The Disappearance of Judy Hopps
by The-crazy-lone-wolf77
Summary: Judy's gone, and with her disappearance she has left Nick shattered and broken on the inside. Being torn apart by guilt, Nick vows to stop at nothing to get Judy back, even if it kills him.
1. Chapter 1

Something was definitely wrong, and Nick knew it.

It all started this morning when he arrived at his and Judy's favorite café, they meet there every day and have their morning coffee along with whatever breakfast item sounds good to them. However, when he arrived she was nowhere to be seen, which was an odd occurrence for the fox considering she always beat him there. He shrugged it off at first, sitting down to wait for her. He could only guess that she was having a rough morning considering what happened last night, and was running a little later than usual. He couldn't blame here either, not after what they, more specifically she, did.

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary for when the two officially started working together on the force at Precinct one, and for such an occasion the two decided to go out for a drink to celebrate. It started off normal enough with the two just casually drinking and reminiscing on the past year about all that they accomplished, which was quite a lot for a rookie team like themselves. It was when Nick had to open his big mouth that things started to get out of paw. He said something along the lines of bunnies not being able to handle too much alcohol. Knowing her, Nick should've known how she would respond. Being who she is, Judy's competitiveness kicked in and she was determined to prove Nick wrong. Honestly, after what happened next he wish he hadn't of said anything. Not to go into too much detail, but let's just say the bunny lost in multiple ways. A few hours later he found himself in Judy's apartment trying, and failing, to get a very drunk Judy to go to sleep. She fought every step of the way, but he was eventually able to settle her down and get the bunny into bed. Nick would have stayed to make sure Judy was okay in the morning for work, but he didn't feel like sleeping on a lumpy sofa, especially after a night of drinking. However, the fox did place all the necessities of a hangover on her nightstand. He left her place around two in the morning and that was the last she saw of her.

Then came the morning and he arrived to meet Judy at the café where she never showed up. He attempted to call her, trying to make sure she was awake so that she wasn't late, but her phone just went straight to voicemail. Nick assumed that her phone was dead, noting he never plugged it in to charge. The fox waited as long as he could before having to leave and get to work. "She's probably just running late, I'll see her at the precinct, no doubt," was the thought process going through the fox's head.

Now, as he sat in his and Judy's usual spot, he started to slightly worry for his partner. 'This isn't like her,' the fox fussed. Never in his time here has Judy ever been late. In fact, she's the one who always drags him in ten to twenty minutes early. But she still has time, there is five minutes until they actually need to be here, there's still time.

Fast-forward to the chief walking in and Nick started getting a sickly feeling in his stomach. He had texted her a couple times, only to be met with silence on her end. She never lets a text go unanswered. Somethings wrong, and he knows it. "I knew I shouldn't have gotten her that drunk," he cursed under his breath. Now there could be something wrong with her and he just knew it would be his fault.

"Wilde!" Nicks ears shot up from the sudden shouting of his name. It took him a second to realize it, but eventually he noticed that the whole room except for him had been dismissed.

"Yes, chief?" Nick replied nervously.

"Mind telling me where Hopps is," he questioned the fox with his usual sternly gruff voice.

"Honestly, I wish I knew sir. I haven't been able to reach her all morning." The chief would never have admitted it, but he seemed slightly concerned.

"Do you know where she would be?" he asked.

"Probably at home in bed," Nick laughed tensely, "I may have gotten her a little too drunk during out celebration last night, and she probably has a hangover from hell."

Bogo stared at his officer, one of his most successful rookies none the less, and wondered how in the world someone so talented was so infuriating. He let out a disappointed sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He should be used to this by now, but the fox always seems to find new ways to get under his skin. He had planned to give the two a sensitive case today, but it seems that will be slightly delayed. One of these days he's not going to be able to hold himself back from doing something bad to the fox.

"I'd advise you get over there and make sure she's okay, and I'd leave now before your presence annoys me even more."

"Can do sir," Nick gave a salute and jumped down from his chair, speed walking his way out of the room to escape the rage of his commanding officer.

"And Wilde," Nick flinched and cursed under his breath knowing what was coming next, "Report to me when you get back so we can have a talk," Bogo said. Nick gave a small nod, knowing the 'talk' would be the fox getting stuck with a crappy job as a punishment.

Dressed in his blues, Nick made his way out to the garage and jumped into a cruiser. He hoped that Judy wasn't in too bad of a state, but with how much she drank last night he wouldn't doubt if he found the bunny with her head buried under five pillows while groaning in agony. "I really need to lean to keep my mouth shut sometimes," Nick sighed, knowing all of this was because he couldn't help but prod a little at his friend.

Nick drove his car out from the precinct garage and headed towards Judy's apartment. It wasn't very far at all. When Judy decided to move out of her closet and get a new apartment, she insisted to get one as close as she could to work saying, "I'll always be the first one to the station in case of an emergency," which didn't surprise him at all. She is the very definition of a cop, and she takes a lot of pride in what she does; it's one of the many things Nick admires about her.

Very quickly, Nick made it to Judy's apartment complex and pulled up next to the curb, hopping out from his vehicle and making his way into the building. Judy's room was only on the second floor so he opted to just take the stairs. He reached her floor and got to her room, and that's where the beginning of Nicks worst day ever started.

He immediately noticed the door wasn't completely shut, it being slightly ajar. He remembers quite clearly closing it and locking it behind him, so seeing this made him slightly nervous. The only non negative thing he could think of was that she realized she was running late, got ready in a hurry, and rushed out, forgetting to close her door tightly. But if that were the case, she would definitely of texted him by now.

The fox brought his paw up and rested it on his tranq gun, readying himself for the worst. Slowly, he pushed the door open and crept inside, being extra cautious just in case. He scanned his surrounding trying to find anything out of place , so far everything seemed fine. The kitchen and living room were exactly as he left it last night. It wasn't until he got to her bedroom that his heart sank.

There was a definite sign of a struggle; the bed was knocked off of its frame, her lamp was broken, and her nightstand was toppled over. His chest started pounding and the world around him started becoming blurry. "This can't be happening," Nick murmured in disbelief.

He had to call this in quickly, every second matters now. He reached for his radio and called in to Clawhauser.

"What can I do for you today, officer Wilde," the cheetah said with his usual chirpy attitude.

"Clawhauser, I need you to send a team down to Judy's apartment now. She's been," he swallowed down a lump forming in his throat, "She's been kidnapped." There was a silence on the other end for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Did you hear me, Ben," the fox snapped.

"Y-yah, I'll get officers down there immediately. Are you a hundred percent sure, Nick."

Nick looked around the room, having to wipe away the tears forming in his eyes, " Yes, somebody has Judy."

* * *

 **It feels like it's been ages since I last worked on a story (disregarding the story I posted a couple weeks ago since I wrote those chapters months ago), but I couldn't hold back any longer as the idea for this story popped into my mind and wouldn't go away.**

 **Some of you may be wondering if I'll go back to my other stories that are incomplete which is where I have to say it's unlikely, because I didn't like where they were going and I lost all motivation to write them. This story, however, I hope to write it nice and long.**

 **Thanks to everyone who took their time to read, if you liked it or think I can improve anywhere please leave a comment and feel feel to fav and follow.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


	2. A Shattered World

Within minutes of Nick calling in to the station, Judy's apartment was filled with cops securing the crime scene. Officers made sure to tape off the room and prevent any of the other residents, who had begun to crowd, from getting too close.

Mammals were moving around examining the area, taking photos and looking for anything that could lead to Judy's abductor. Kidnapping cases are always treated with utmost care as every minute counts to find the missing mammal. The longer they are gone the greater the chances are that they won't make it back alive. The fact that its one of their own, and someone who is such a great friend to everyone in the precinct, makes everything that much more urgent and personal.

Judy's neighbors who had gathered around were being questioned if they heard or noticed anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. Out in the hall among them was Nick who couldn't stand to be in her place anymore. Seeing it being treated as a crime scene was making him a little emotionally unstable; he was barley able to keep back the tears. He'd never expect anything like this to happen to her; of all people in the city, why her. Her tried to process it, but he couldn't even think straight with everything going on. He never knew he could feel this way about anyone, but there he was standing in the middle of the hall broken with nothing but 'her' in his mind. Her face, her voice, her contagious laugh, that smile that could light up a whole room; those traits that made up who that bunny is now haunted his mind as thoughts of never seeing her again plagued his mind. Nick knows the success rate of finding kidnapped mammals, especially an adult female, is very low. They usually find them eventually, but it isn't pretty. The fox couldn't bring himself to think like that, he doesn't want to imagine what they'd find.

"Officer Wilde?" Nick looked up to see another officer facing him with a look of concern. The fox recognized him as officer Burton, a lynx who had joined not long after himself. He was one of the many 'firsts' of his kind that came to be after Judy showed just how capable smaller officers could be in the field.

Nick looked at him with a blank stare, "Yah, what is it," he said rather coldly. The lynx knew that usually he wasn't like this, but under the circumstances he didn't take much offense to his tone. Everyone knows how close Nick and Judy are, practically inseparable. So for this to happen, it's understandable for the fox to act up.

"The chief says he wants to see you back in his office, and he wants you there as soon as possible."

Nicks first instinct was to object; he felt like he had to stay and find out what happened. But the more he thought, he knew he was no help here and he would only get in the way. There are plenty of other capable officers, who aren't emotionally unstable, who he trusts can get the job done. If anyone can find her, it's them. Plus, it's not very smart to disobey an order from Bogo; it won't end well.

"Alright, I'll get heading over, thanks," Nick said with less hostility this time. "And sorry for lashing out, it was uncalled for."

"It's fine, I can't begin to imagine what you're feeling right now."

"Yah," Nick whispered, turning away from the lynx to go downstairs, "It's not fun."

Nick made it outside and was amazed at how quickly the media had already crowded around the scene. He knew that they'd try to keep everything quiet for now, but eventually the truth would come out either in a statement to the press, or from a leak of information. That made the fox think of Judy's family. How were they going to react? When they do hear about it, he can only imagine the dark cloud that will hang over their home. Bonnie and Stu seemed very protective over their daughter when they came down for a visit, and to hear she's been taken would crush them.

Nick was about to cross the street when he met the gaze of an eager looking reporter. Nick sighed, knowing what was coming. The reporter, a female coyote, walked over towards him causing the fox to quicken his pace. Unfortunately, no one escapes the press.

"Officer Wilde," the coyote called out to Nick, getting the fox to sigh in dismay. He really wasn't in the mood for any of this.

"Yes," he faced the reporter looking apathetic.

"Mind shedding some light on what's going on in there?" she asked eagerly. It was as clear as water to Nick that this was some new reporter who was trying to make their mark with some big story. Unfortunately for her, Nick wasn't handing over any information.

"No, have a nice day," he said, his patience thinning.

"What about your partner, Officer Hopps. Do you think she'd answer a few of my questions?" Nicks body stiffened up and he clenched his fists. The mention of her name was almost enough to set him off, but he was able to control himself. Seeing how he was acting, the fox forced himself to call down. This isn't him, he knows it. But he can't help it, not with what's happened.

He faced the coyote and saw her face full of optimism, she couldn't have been any older than 21; it reminded him a lot of Judy. He softened his gaze and let out a small sigh, "I doubt she will." That seemed to put a damper on her mood. "But don't let that stop you. I bet you'll get that big story that will send you right over the top."

"You think so?" She asked, that optimistic smile returning to her face.

"Yah, of course. It's Zootopia is it not. Anyone can be anything, just as long as you work hard for it," Nick quoted what Judy would always say.

"Thanks officer, I really needed to hear that."

"No problem, now have a nice day," Nick waved as he got into his cruiser. He smiled for a few moments, knowing he had done good with that. Then his thoughts strayed back to the reason he was here in the first place and his smile vanished. The fox exhaled and turned the car on, the chief was probably growing tired waiting for him.

It wasn't long before Nick was walking through the precinct where he was very noticeably being stared at by his fellow officers. News always spreads too fast here. Nick walked past Clawhauser who tried to say something, but for once he couldn't find anything to say, at least nothing that would get the fox to feel any better. He wished he could do anything to help the fox, but he's been working the force long enough to know losing a partner is something that only gets healed by time. But in this case, there's still a chance that Judy will come back alive; though the chances are slim, he won't give up hope on that bunny.

Nick eventually found himself at Bogo's door, feeling reluctant to go in. He knew whatever it is that they are going to talk about will be uncomfortable for the both of them. But he can't just stay out here forever, so he knocked on the door. There was a slight pause of silence before Nick heard the chief call him in. He opened the door and walked in. At his desk, Bogo was looking down at a set of documents looking more stressed out than usual. The fox has a feeling he knows exactly what those papers are for. Nick hopped up on the seat across from Bogo and waited for the buffalo to say something.

It took a few moments but eventually the chief looked up and stared at the fox with something he's never seen come from him: sympathy.

"How are you holding up, Wilde?" The Chief asked his officer with concern.

"Since when did you grow a conscious," Nick jokingly replied with a half hearted laugh. His boss didn't look too impressed. He sighed and shook his head, "Honestly? I feel like the world's collapsing in on me and there's nothing I can do." He felt the tears starting to come back, but managed to hold them.

"Trust me when I say I know how hard it is to lose a partner that you're close with. There are many of us who have been there," Bogo told Nick, sharing the same pained look.

"But there is still a chance that she's alive," Nick snapped a little, thinking the chief was already signing off on her death.

"I know, and I will do everything I can to try and find her, but I also have to prepare for every possible outcome. We won't be able to do anything until we get some sort of lead, which most likely won't happen until forensics process everything which can take a couple of days."

"How do you expect me to wait around for a couple of days when I could be out looking for Judy?" The fox protested, getting more irritable. Bogo saw this and gave his subordinate a look of warning. Nick reluctantly backed down, for now.

"You won't be doing anything but going home. I'm putting you on administrative leave for the time being. I want you at home relaxing and taking it easy for now. And when you get back I'll assign you something that doesn't involve officer Hopps." Bogo stared with harsh strictness.

"Sir, that's not fair. I'm her partner, I should be out there searching for her," Nick argued. He couldn't do this to him.

"Officer Wilde, I suggest you bite your tongue. You are tied too close to the case, you're too emotionally attached. We don't want you making rash, impulsive decisions that could get you in trouble. Now I suggest you do as I say, do you understand."

Nick so badly wanted to fight back and demand that they let him work this case. Judy is his partner and closest friend, he deserves to be put on the case. But he also knows the rules, and knows it would be useless to try and fight the chief. There was no way around this. "Yes sir," The fox answered in defeat.

"Good, now get yourself home and try to get your mind off things."

Nick left without any further words, still upset by the whole situation, yet not having any control over any of it. Going home and sitting around doing nothing was the last thing the vulpine wanted to do, but he had no choice in this; his paws are tied. All he could do was sit around and hope that they would find her and quick, because the longer that she is gone, the greater chance that he'll never see her again. Nick isn't ready to face the reality of living the rest of his life without Judy; it isn't a future he wants to endure.

* * *

 **Here y'all go, another chapter in less than a week which I say is an accomplishment for me. I hope you enjoyed it. It seems Nick is a little unstable, who knows what he'll do in the near future. Its my spring break this week so hopefully I'll have a new chapter up soon.**

 **Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed the story, it's honestly more than I expected. Thanks to the person who left a comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter and hope this one doesn't disappoint. And finally thanks to the person who Left me a suggestion.**

 **As always, feel free to Favorite, Follow, and I always love reading your comments (seriously it's a real addiction problem) so keep them coming.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


	3. Worst Vaccation Ever

A week has gone by since Judy has been taken, and still nothing has turned up concerning her whereabouts, much to the dismay of her partner. The fox has called Clawhauser a few times to try and get an update, but nothing came of it. All he'd get was an apology and some excuse; eventually he learned that calling in would get him nowhere. He's already forcefully been cut off from the investigation and couldn't do anything to help, at least as a police officer. He knew in the back of his mind he'd never be able stay out completely.

As he suspected, the news of Zootopias most well known officer being kidnapped got out a couple days after it happened. Nick remembers watching the news and the report coming up. He wasn't able to watch the whole thing, the pain just too much. Never in his life has the fox felt so miserable and helpless. It got to the point where he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. He may not be able to investigate as a cop, but he still has a few connections out on the street.

The first couple of days of his administrative leave Nick couldn't do anything but hope as he laid around his apartment. A sense of worthlessness fell over him. He began to blame himself for what happened. If he had stayed with her that night, maybe he could have done something to protect her, but he left because he didn't want to sleep on an uncomfortable couch. What kind of friend was he?

It was on the third day that he knew he couldn't just sit around anymore, it was literally starting to drive him crazy. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing the face of her, and when he does manage to fall asleep he has nightmares of her being tortured and killed right in front of his eyes, and every time her corpse screams at him "It's all your fault!" He couldn't take it anymore. He woke up on the third morning after another nightmare and immediately reached for his phone. He looked on the scene seeing many missed calls from friends, his mother, and even Judy's parents. He was hoping to postpone any talking for as long as possible; especially with her parents. Luckily, he didn't need to talk to them, he needed to have a conversation with an old friend. He tapped on his contact and began calling him up. It ringed a few times until it was picked up.

"Finnick, we need to talk. Can we meet up somewhere today?"

A little over an hour later and Nick was sitting on a bench in the middle of a park waiting for Finnick. The fox felt good getting out of that stuffy apartment. Being outside in the sun was nice, however there was still a terrible pain lingering in his heart. He figured that is an awful feeling that is going to be there for a long time.

Nick kept his head low as to not be noticed. With his involvement in solving the Nighthowler case, some mammals would come up and talk with him and Judy, mostly Judy, and thank them. However, with everything that has happened he really doesn't want to have a conversation about his missing partner.

"Hey, Nick." Nick looked over at Finnick to see him jumping up the bench with him. They have somewhat kept in touch, but not as much as they used to ever since he became a cop. Nick and Finnicks professions don't really mix well. Even though they've had a lack of contact, he will always be able to tell when the old fennec is acting strange.

"You know, I don't need you to talk to me like that, I'm not a kit anymore," Nick told his old friend.

"Yah you're right. You're not the same runaway I found all those years ago, but I also know how much that bunny cop means to you." Finnick said knowingly. Nick was going to argue, but didn't see the point, mostly because he's right. Nick has had a better relationship with her than most anyone else ever in his life, which makes it that much more painful that she's gone. Not being able to see her in his everyday routine is painful, like a part of him is missing. But that's why he called Finnick, to try and get that piece of him back.

"I assume you already know why I asked to meet with you?" Nick guessed.

"Well I'm guessing it wasn't to say hi and catch up," the smaller fox commented.

"I'm hoping you have heard something while you've been doing your business," Nick was hoping that his old partner has heard something in Zootopias underground.

"I haven't really noticed anything, everything seems to be normal. Trust me, you'll be the first person I come to if I hear anything about the rabbit. I ain't no snitch, but like I said, I know how important she is to you."

That's where their conversation ended. He was a little disappointed with the lack of information Finnick was able to give him, but he trusts that if he hears anything, he'll tell him. Luckily, Nick made a backup plan. The bad part, however, is that he'd be asking a favor from one of the biggest crime family's in the city. They tend to keep it on the down low that they have relations with the Big family, because if word got out then they'd be in a lot of trouble. He was taking a risk asking for their help, but he found it necessary in this desperate time.

He would've much more preferred if he could meet with them face to face, but for whatever reason Mr. Big denied that request. Instead, the crime boss sent someone down to talk with the fox. Nick was sat in the same park, on a different bench, when a badger sat down next to him.

"Something big is happening," the badger said getting straight to the point. He slid over an envelope then got up and left as fast as he came. Nick picked up the letter and examined it for a moment before tucking it into his pocket.

He quickly made his way home feeling like he needed to read the letter in seclusion. He got to his apartment, raced into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. He carefully tore open the envelope and pulled out a single piece of paper folded in half. He examined the outside to see if there were any words or markings on the outside, but there was nothing. So he unfolded to piece of paper and found a single sentence that read: 'Judy isn't the last, watch your back.' Nick read that one line over and over again in his head and out loud. It's funny how seven words could strike such terror into an animal. The worst part was the vagueness. Who is behind this and what do they want with Judy. "Where are you," he whispered softly to himself.

Now fast-forward a few days to present day to where Nick was still awake after another restless. It was nearly six in the morning and Nick hadn't got any sleep, making that the second time in three days. He wished he could sleep, to rest his eyes and his aching head, but he couldn't handle the nightmares anymore. Seeing her killed over and over again has taken it's toll on the suffering fox, and unfortunately being conscious was no escape either. The words from the letter haunted his thoughts and paranoia started to set in. Any little sound he would hear outside his door, his body would stiffen up, but not from fear. He was waiting for a fight, if the person who took her came after him he'd be ready to kick their ass and force them to tell him where she is. That's all he wants, is to at least have a chance to save her.

Right now he was focused on the news; they were doing their regular update on the kidnapping and much to Nicks dismay, they still didn't know anything. Nick knew he wouldn't get anything from the station, because they know the fox to well; they figure he would use the information to try and go after the suspect himself, and they'd be one hundred percent correct. Given the chance, Nick wouldn't hesitate to go and find his missing bunny.

Nick was so focused on the TV that he got startled when his phone went off telling him he has a text. He quickly grabbed for it, hoping that it would either be Finnick or one of Mr. Big's goons, both of whom he hasn't heard anything from since the last time he's seen them. Instead, however, he was surprised to find the text from quite the opposite of what he was expecting. It was a text from Ben telling him that the chief wanted him down at the station in uniform in an hour. This took the fox a little off guard, he didn't expect to be called in again for a few more weeks. Somethings had to of come up. This was good news, maybe doing some work would take his mind off all these terrible things, and he could always try and get some info from any of his fellow officers. He pushed himself up from his couch, went to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee, then went to his room to get ready.

Less than an hour later, Nick was walking up the steps and into the precinct. He never thought it would nice to see this place, but after so long of sitting and wallowing in self-pity and despair, he figured a little work would do him some good. When he first walked in, Ben had been distracted by whatever he was looking at on his phone. He happened to glance up slightly and catch a glimpse of the fox. Seeing him brought a smile to his face. He had been so worried about his coworker and friend. Losing someone so suddenly and without warning isn't something anyone should have to go through, unfortunately it happens all too often. Though, looking close at him, he could tell he wasn't doing all that great. He knows that sleepless, stressed look all too much. Plenty of officers get in while working a difficult case, but Nick looked slightly worse.

"It's good to see you, Nick," Clawhauser smiled softly at the fox. Nick returned the smile, also happy to see a familiar friendly face.

"Right back at yah, Benny boy," Nick chuckled, trying to act normal but it just wasn't the same and they both knew it. Ben didn't bring it up, though, not wanting to speak on the elephant in the room, and he's not talking about Francine.

The two were left in an awkward silence for a moment until Nick broke it by saying good bye to Clawhauser and proceeding up to the chiefs office. Exactly like a week ago, he got to the second floor and walked over to Bogo's door, only this time their was another officer who he's never seen before sitting outside the room, their eyes never leaving the fox. Nick found this kind of strange, but still nodded in acknowledgment towards the wolf.

Nick knocked on the door and was immediately invited in. He opened the door and was met by the gaze of his commanding officer. He felt slightly intimidated, but knew he'd be fine otherwise he wouldn't have told him to come in uniform. He jumped up on the seat and faced Bogo, wondering just what exactly it was he wanted.

"Sorry to call you in, Wilde, but the past week has been crazy and we're low on help. I have a case I need you to work on," he explained sliding over a file towards the fox. "A high valued politician has been reported missing for a few days and I need you to look into it." Nick scanned over the file briefly, continually nodding his head. He closed it with a smile.

"Consider it done, sir," the fox smirked, about to jump off the chair and leave the room; however, before he could Bogo stopped him.

"I can't allow you to go alone, Wilde," Bogo said. Nicks smile vanished and he felt a little depressed at the thought that this would be his first case he works without her and with someone he doesn't know. Putting two and two together Nico again faced the chief and pointed behind him.

"I assume that wolf out there is my new partner?" he questioned, but is pretty sure he's right.

"He is the new rookie assigned to the precinct. I want you to show him the ropes and get him comfortable out in the field," Bogo told him. As much as the fox disliked it, he knows he doesn't have a say in it.

"Alright, I'll make sure to teach him everything I know," Nick said.

"Maybe not everything," Bogo joked, getting the fox to laugh. He didn't tend to shed his serious demeanor often, but it was always a pleasant surprise when he did.

Nick left the room with his mind swimming with different thoughts. Mostly concerning the animal only a few feet away from him. He turned and faced him and saw the wolf was already looking at him. "So, you're my new partner huh," Nick commented.

The wolf quickly stood up and stumbled over his words for a few moments before composing himself, "Yes, sir. I'm McCabe Walker." Nick stared at the midnight black wolf for a moment, taking a mental note that he was going to take some work.

"First off," Nick said, starting to walk off with McCabe following, "don't call me sir. I may be older and have been here longer, but we're partners." McCabe nodded slightly. "And secondly, welcome to first precinct," he smiled at the wolf then started walking to the garage with the rookie close behind. If only they knew how much their lives, and the lives of many, were going to change.

* * *

 **Another chapter in and Nick isn't feeling any better. Still nothing found on Judy, he can't sleep, and now he has to work with a new partner. For Nick, it seems his world is crumbling down around him.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and left a comment. And to anyone who hasn't done any of that, feel free too, especially comments. I love hearing what you all have to say, plus it always helps to get some feedback.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


	4. Tides of Change

Nick was deep in thought staring out the windshield of the cruiser as he tapped lightly on the steering wheel. The fox and his new partner, McCabe, were sat in the cruiser on their way to the house of the kidnapped politician. From the file he read the victim is a middle aged moose named Thomas Asher. So far that's all he knows; he had handed the rookie the file back in the garage and that's what he was reading up on while Nick drove. The moose lives on the outskirts of Tundra Town in a large mansion, kind of like Mr. Big except on the opposite side of town and probably wasn't a heavily fortified mafia style palace.

As they drove, Nicks mind couldn't help but think back to the letter and about how Judy wasn't the last. Could this be connected with her disappearance? Nick couldn't be for certain; kidnapping aren't a rare thing after al. Though unfortunate, they happen more often then people realize. Of course to abduct such a big public figure is a pretty gutsy thing to do, and within a week this guy makes for the second missing mammal who's a big public figure. That's when the words of that badger came to mind, "Something big is happening." There was definitely something going on, and Nick is afraid to find out just exactly what that is.

He decided that it be best to stop thinking about all that. He has a case to worry about, not some conspiracy. Plus, it would be nice to get her off his mind; as much as he cares for her it's getting to the point where he can't function correctly with her on his mind. That doesn't mean he'll quit looking for her, no he won't stop until he sees her again no matter the condition. That will come in time, make no mistake. For now, however, he needed her gone and out of his head.

Nick turned to the young wolf, seeing his partner still scanning through the file on Mr. Asher. The vulpine smirked slightly, it wasn't hard to see that the wolf was trying to impress him. He's been looking non stop at the sheets of paper since they left; well there are only about three or four pieces and he's looked at them about a dozen times. 'Rookies' Nick inwardly chuckled as he shook his head back and forth. 'Better stop him before he strains his eyes' the fox joked.

"So, McCabe," Nick broke the silence, getting the wolf to look up from the file and towards the fox, "What's your story?" Nick felt that if the two were going to be partners, that it would be smart to get to know each other and try to build a bond. He doesn't think anyone will ever come close to having the same bond as what him and Judy shared, but he knows he needs to at least try.

"My story, what do you mean?" McCabe asked, slightly confused.

"You know, your story. Why did you decide to join the force. Most animals have a reason behind it," Nick elaborated.

"Ah, I see," The wolf nodded, now understanding what he meant. "Well, I guess it starts back when I was just a pup. I didn't live in the best of neighborhoods and saw a lot of bad stuff growing up. Luckily we were able to move out when I was about twelve after multiple break in's, and after my parents got mugged right outside of our house. I never forgot about that time I spent there and dreamed to be able and make the streets a safer place. That and also," he stopped for a second and looked sheepishly out the window, "It wasn't until I saw you and Officer Hopps on TV that I finally built up the courage to join the academy."

Nick chuckled and smirked over at his partner who wasn't looking him directly in the eyes. He found it funny how nervous this kid was acting around him, but also felt kind of honored, in a way, that he helped inspire someone to do some good in this world.

"How about you, Officer Wilde, why did you join the police so late?" McCabe asked.

"Please just call me Nick. Like I said we're partners, drop the formalities. As for why I joined, that's a long story." A smile fell upon the foxes lips as he thought back his first interactions with the bunny who changed his life; turning him from a life of crime to one of law enforcement. What a 360 his life took just by meeting one little bunny. His smile faltered as he remembered why he was even talking to a new partner and for a brief moment the darkness in his heart started to settle back in.

"Uh, Nick?" The foxes snapped out from his dark thoughts and looked to see a concerned looking McCabe. "You alright?" he asked softly. He knows plenty about Officer Hopps's disappearance, but honestly doesn't know the extent of the two's relationship. From how he's acting, the wolf guesses that they were pretty close.

"Yah I'm fine, just got a lot on my mind," Nick brushed off, not wanting to plunge to deep into his mind; he's pretty sure the rookie doesn't want to hear about any of that. "Anyways, you wanted to know why I joined the force?"

"I do, but I'm guessing that'll have to wait," he said pointing out the windshield. Nick looked over and was shocked to find that they were already at the house.

"I guess we'll have to pick up this conversation another time then," Nick stated as they drove up and through the front gates of the estate. Nick couldn't help but let out a long whistle as they drove up the long driveway of the house. Actually, Nick would have to describe it more as a mansion considering the sheer size of the place. A three story house surrounded by snow covered pines on either side of it. A large fountain sat just in front of the huge double doored entrance.

"Man, I chose the wrong profession," McCabe joked as they parked next to the other cop cars that were already there.

"No kidding," Nick chuckled.

The two hopped out of the car and walked over to an officer making sure no unauthorized personal got in. Upon seeing the fox officer the elk smiled and greeted him cheerfully. "Officer Wilde, good to see you back in uniform," she smiled.

"Good to be back Shelly, how's the calves?"

"A hoof full, as usual," she chuckled, her eyes wondering over to the wolf standing slightly behind Nick. "Who might this be?"

Nick turned to McCabe, "This is Officer Walker, a rookie and my new partner," he explained. McCabe waved kindly at the elk.

"Ah, I see," Shelly smiled weakly. Nick noticed this and understood her sorrow. Judy is friends with just about every officer in Zootopia, and seeing her gone can't be easy on any of them either. "Anyway, you'll find the lead detectives probably near the kitchen."

"Thanks, Shells," Nick smiled softly at the cow. As they walked by, Shelly grabbed McCabe for a second.

"Keep an eye on him, alright. He may seem like a big tough fox, but he's still got some emotions under that hard exterior." She whispered. McCabe was taken back for a second, but soon nodded his head.

"Will do," the wolf said before catching back up with Nick.

Shelly looked at the two until they entered the house and let out a soft sigh, "Poor fox," she frowned, then went back to what she was doing.

McCabe caught back up with Nick as they entered into the house, both of them staring in awe at the magnificent interior. "So what was that all about?" Nick asked as he examined the place. McCabe quickly thought of an excuse, not wanting the fox to get upset with him.

"She was just welcoming me to the force is all," he lied. And it seems like Nick didn't notice. He just nodded his head, saying that she is one of the friendliest mammals that he's ever met.

Nick, with McCabe behind him still staring in amazement at the structure he was in, walked into the kitchen finding a whole group of mammals moving around the place going about doing all their different tasks. For a moment the vulpine looked around to see who the lead directives are, but soon found his eyes landing on a few familiar figures.

"Detectives," Nick announced their presence as he walked up behind a male leopard and female hyena. The other partners turned around and looked at Nick and immediately became annoyed by his presence. They have a history with each other where Nick and Judy constantly out performed them at their own job. It's not Nicks fault that him and Judy are just really good at what they do, those two are just a bit jealous of their success.

"Hello Officer Wilde, what a surprise it is to see you here," the leopard said with bitterness. Usually Nick would like to have fun and mess with the two, but today he isn't really in the mood for obvious reasons.

"Hopefully a happy one, Lincoln," Nick smirked, "So how's the crime scene looking? Find anything that could give us any leads on the perp?" Nick questioned as he scanned the room.

Lincoln was about to say some sort of comeback out of instinct, but was surprised to hear the fox was actually focusing on the case. Him and his partner, Sam, shared a look before he returned his focus back to Nick. "Um, no. So far we haven't found anything. The perp left nothing but a body at the gate. Everything else was done clean and without a trace," Lincoln explained as he gestured around the room. "We're just lucky that he didn't know the wife was here."

"Wife?" Nick asked.

"Yah. His wife was supposed to go out with some friends, but ended up getting sick and stayed home. She was in the bathroom when the lights suddenly shut off. She just assumed it was a power outage. Then she said she heard a 'whooshing' sound and something hit the ground. The next thing she knew there was a bunch of stepping in her house for a few minutes and then nothing. When she got out her husband was gone."

"She didn't see anything?" Nick questioned. They told him no, that they were gone by the time she got the courage to leave the bathroom.

Nick thought about it for a second. A whooshing noise, taking a fully grown moose, audible sounds of pawsteps. "I think we're dealing with a team of mammals who have access to tranquilizers," Nick said to the group.

"We were thinking the same thing. You'd have to be a pretty big animal to haul off a moose of his size all by yourself. And tranq guns have a pretty distinct whoosh noise," Sam agreed with the fox.

"Unfortunately, we have no evidence to go off of other than a terrified cow," Lincoln sighed with annoyance.

"Not even the sniffers could pick up anything?" McCabe piped up. He may be a rookie, but he knows his stuff; at least for the most part. There's still some stuff he has yet to learn that the academy just can't teach.

"Nope, none of our wolf specialists could pick up anything. Whoever did this is a professional," Sam stated.

"I imagine there will be a call for a hefty ransom in the not so distant future," Nick speculated.

"I'm assuming that's the only reason they would take this guy. He's pretty well liked for a politician, but when you show people you got money that's when things go south for you," Lincoln sighed.

"So we can't do anything but wait?" McCabe questioned.

"As of right now, yah that's our only option unfortunately," Sam confirmed. Nick hates waiting like this. This is the second kidnapping that's been like this. They couldn't find anything with Judy either, except that there were at least signs of a struggle at her place. Here, they have nothing to go off of other than they may possibly be working with a group and not just a single perp.

"I'll think I'm going to have a look around anyway, see if I can be useful," Nick said, excusing himself from the detectives and motioning for McCabe to follow him.

"Why do I get the feeling they don't like you?" The wolf asked when the two were out of earshot from Lincoln and Sam.

"Because they don't, they're a tad bit jealous," Nick chuckled as he examined the place, looking for any little detail that may give him a clue of what they are going up against.

"Do you think these animals could be ex-military?" McCabe asked looking, and smelling, around the place; taking what he's learned from the academy and putting it into action.

"It's a possibility that we can't rule out. There's a lot of ex-military persons who become mercenaries after their done serving. It's unfortunate that they tend to do illegal things though." Nick talked on as he stared at the layout of the kitchen. Something was off, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Something wrong?" McCabe questioned walking up next to the fox.

"Yah," Nick mumbled walking over to a row of chairs behind a counter. "These mammals went through a lot of trouble to make sure everything was perfect," Nick commented, getting McCabe to look at him quizzically.

"I'm not understanding where you're going with this," the wolf shook his head confused.

"Where I'm going with this, is that if they wanted everything perfect then why is this chair crooked," Nick gestured in front of him. McCabe looked at the chair in front of Nick and saw that it was slightly crooked, but it was barely off with the others and doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

Nick knows better. It's always the small details that give the biggest outcome. He pulled the chair out and began to examine it, turning it left and right then taking off the seat cushion. He looked down under the cushion and smiled. He put on a rubber glove and picked up a small card that had been hiding under the cushion.

"Consider myself impressed," McCabe said as he looked at the card in Nicks paws.

Nick looked at the card closely and on one of the sides it had three words printed in large bold letters 'TIDES OF CHANGE' he read it out loud wondering what it could mean.

"Does that mean anything to you?" McCabe asked. Nick shook his head. He knows what it means as a saying, but has nothing in this context. The only thing he could think of is that this may not be a typical ransom. Before thinking about it anymore, he called over another officer and asked him to put the card in evidence.

"Well, at least we got something!" McCabe said cheerfully.

"Yah," Nick responded not focused at all on the wolf's words. Instead, his mind again wondered back to the badger and letter. 'Something big is happening' he had said; 'Judy isn't the last, watch your back' the letter had read. Maybe, just maybe, this was connected with Judy and this could be they key to finding her. Then he thought about the card he just found. "If this is a calling card, then maybe theirs one at her place," Nick mumbled thoughtfully to himself.

"What? What are you talking about?" McCabe asked confused. From his point of view, Nick was talking nonsense and acting very strange.

"Follow me, hurry," Nick suddenly said, speeding out from the house and making the wolf have to run to catch up.

"Where are we going?" McCabe shouted at Nick.

"Another crime scene."

Almost an hour later and the two found themselves in front of a building only one of them recognized. Nick had hoped he wouldn't have to come back here for a while, but coming here is a necessity. "So what happened here that is connected with our case?" McCabe asked as they walked into the building and through the lobby.

"There was another kidnapping here that was very similar," Nick explained glumly while walking up the stairs and onto Judy's floor. McCabe was starting to understand where they were and thought it would be smart to stop asking questions. They got to the room which still had police tape on it. It was locked up tight, luckily Nick was given a spare key by the owner. He opened the door and ducked under the tape into the apartment with McCabe following in suit.

Immediately Nick began looking for anything that is out of place. He knows this place better than any other mammal that could come in here and try to look. If the same mammals that took Mr. Asher took Judy, Nick would find out here. As the fox did this, McCabe stood back and just watched. It was already weird being partnered to one of his idols, but it felt even weirder being in one of his idols houses, especially after her disappearance. He didn't want to touch anything in fear that Nick might get mad at him, but he did feel like he had to ask a question.

"Do you think Officer Hopps was taken by the same mammals?" he asked the fox. Nick stopped for a second, still not a fan of hearing her name said out loud.

"I can't be for sure, but I can't not try and find out." Nick walked into the room where it happened and had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. 'Pull yourself together, you are a full grown fox' he scolded himself. He pushed forward through the negative thoughts, opened his eyes and scanned the room, almost immediately finding something out of place. Judy's lamp was on the wrong nightstand, on the opposite side of the bed from where it should be. He walked over to it and picked it up, finding exactly what he thought he would. He picked up the card with the words 'TIDES OF CHANGE'.

"So it is them?" McCabe asked from behind, looking at the familiar card in Nicks paw.

Nick inhaled deeply and let out a sigh, "I need to go and have a talk with the chief."

* * *

 **And so the plot thickens. Who is this group? What's going to happen next? Will Nick ever see Judy again? I know the answers, but you'll just have to keep coming back to find out.**

 **Thanks everyone who has favorited, followed and commented. I'm happy that there are at least a few of you enjoying this story.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


	5. I will Find You

The room was flooded with a silence that made Nick very uncomfortable. He shuffled around in the seat while he waited across the desk of Bogo for him to say anything. The fox had planned for the buffalo to get furious at him for going behind his back and disobeying orders to try and look into Judy's disappearance. He also figured he wouldn't like the fact that he got in contact with the mob boss he was told to cut connections with when he joined the police. The chief and Judy are the only ones on the force who know of Nicks past life. The mayor also knows of the misdeeds he has committed, but decided to overlook them due to his involvement in solving the Nighthowlers case. The only stipulation was to cut all ties with his old life. For the most part he complied, except for Finnick who is basically family. He hadn't had any contact with Mr. Big or anyone who works with him for over a year, but when Judy got kidnapped he knew he had to call in a favor from them, and since Judy did save his daughter's life he figured the shrew would help, which he did to an extent by giving him the letter.

It had been nearly ten minutes since Nick entered the office, explained what was happening, then gave Bogo the card and the letter that tied everything together. The fox figured at this point in time that the chief would be going ballistic and yelling at him which tends to happen quite frequently. However, Nick was left anxious as Bogo just studied the two pieces of paper over and over again. Nick envied his partner, McCabe, who he had stay outside the room while he conversed with Bogo. The only thing is Bogo hasn't said a single word and it was starting to worry the fox. He just knew Bogo was going to have to take disciplinary actions against the fox, he just hopes it won't be too bad.

"Wilde," Nick looked up startled from the sudden voice, seeing that Bogo was looking straight at him with a bitter expression that was evident on his face. "Normally I'd be furious that you disobeyed a direct order," he said gruffly, getting the fox to slump down farther into his chair. "However, where whole squads couldn't even find a trace of fur, within a short amount of time you were able to find the only lead that connects two cases together, and as of right now it is the best chance we have for solving them. And as for this," he said holding up the letter given to the fox be Mr. Big which he knew was going to get him in the most trouble, "I'll just say it was an anonymous tip."

Nick looked at him surprised. This is the first time the chief hasn't punished him for breaking the rules; instead he's just going to act like it just didn't happen? Slightly confused he just had to ask why.

Bogo sighed as he set the pieces of paper down. "You must understand, Wilde, that you aren't the only one who wishes for Hopps to return back safely. There are plenty of us here that would do anything to get that bunny back," a small smile crossed his face as he thought about that damned bunny. He used to dread the thought of having the rabbit under his command, when he first heard about it he wished nothing more for it to be a joke. However, over time those feeling have changed into nothing but pride and respect, and also the occasional headache, for his smallest officer. It's a little hard to believe, but he wouldn't doubt if she became chief herself one day.

Bogo shook his respond, realizing his mind was wandering. "You are one of the best this precinct has to offer with the amount of knowledge you have about how this city works. It might be against protocol considering how deeply you are connected, but I think it would be the best option to put you at the head of this investigation."

It took him a second to process what he was hearing. He figured he'd have to be fighting for this for a little longer; assumed that he'd have to be sneaky and a bit of a trickster to do anything that involves Judy's case. Instead, he's just been given the whole thing to lead. He's gone from being sidelined to leading the team, and he was, without a doubt, shocked; but still pleased beyond words.

"I don't know what to say, thanks chief!" Nick expressed joyfully, already ready to get started.

"Just remember to treat it like any case. I know it's Hopps, but we can't let our emotions get the better of us, and I'm going to warn you now that if you do anything stupid I will not hesitate in pulling you off the case again," Bogo stressed, wanting to get it through the foxes head.

"Don't worry Chief, I can control myself just fine," Nick smiled standing up in the chair. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an officer to find." The fox jumped down to the floor and walked out the door, all while Bogo watched anxiously.

"Just please don't do anything that we will both regret," he mumbled, before turning back to the stack of papers on his desk.

"I going to assume by your smile that it went well?" McCabe asked, standing up his chair and joining Nicks side as he walked downstairs. He had only been able to hear muffled talk between the two, not saying he was trying to listen in to their private conversation.

"A lot better than I thought, I will tell you that," Nick chuckled, having a bit of a spring in his step. A feeling lost to him a week ago finally returned as he was hopeful again; hopeful that he will be able to see Judy alive again. He knows he can find her, he just knows it, it's only a matter of time.

"So what happened then?" the wolf asked with rising curiosity.

"He put me in charge of the investigation," Nick gave off a smug smile. He knows Bogo knows that he's the best chance they have at finding both Judy and that moose, Mr. Asher. There isn't anyone else the fox could think of who could do it from such little given to them. Well maybe one, but unfortunately she's who he has to find.

The fox looked at his phone for the time as saw that it was starting to get really late. "You know, McCabe, I think you should probably get home and get some rest. It's been a long day today and will be an even longer day tomorrow," Nick said to the young officer.

"Are you sure," he questioned, "I can help you with whatever you need," McCabe offered.

"That's alright, I'll be fine," Nick assured his rookie partner, noting the wolf's selflessness.

"Alright then, I guess I will see You tomorrow then," McCabe said, giving a little wave as he left. Nick watched him for a moment before he turned and went a separate way.

He made his way over to his desk and hopped onto his computer. Within a few seconds he was looking through everything they had on the kidnappings of Judy and Mr. Asher. As he went through them he noticed that they indeed had barley anything. A few pictures of both the mansion and the apartment; a couple pictures of Judy's trashed room; a dead guard in the security box on the Asher estate, and finally a picture of the card he had found earlier that day. This isn't very much to go on, but that didn't discourage the fox. Nick sighed and rubbed his head, "This is going to be a long night."

Time flashed by and by the time Nick looked down at the time on his computer, it read 4 am. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and let out an audible yawn. His eyes haven't left the monitor for about 5 hours. He was trying to dig into everything they have, which is not a lot, going to every little nook and cranny searching the term Tides Of Change. He couldn't find hardly anything on the thing, at least nothing that would help him. It's when he started digging into Mr. Asher that things started to get interesting.

Nick had heard the moose's name before, and really only heard good things about him. However, from what he's found there have been multiple accounts of animals accusing Asher of practicing shady business deals and calling him out as being corrupt. But as far as Nick can tell, all accusations were waved away and quietly swept under the rug. The fox began putting something together, though he's not so sure how accurate it is. Still, it's early in the investigation.

Nick stretched out his stiff limbs and jumped down from his chair, deciding to get some coffee; he definitely was not planning on sleeping tonight. As he walked to and from the coffee machine, he had a strange feeling run through his body but he couldn't quite tell what it was; maybe it was the lack of other animals in the building. It may be the middle of the night, but there's usually somebody walking around working the graveyard shift. The fox decided to just shrug it off, and brushed it aside as paranoia.

However, as he got back to his desk something was really wrong. Everything around him seemed to grow darker and darker as he walked closer; the only thing he could make out was a low hue of light coming off from his monitor. When he got closer, he noticed it wasn't the same thing it had been when he left. He got up right next to the screen and his eyes shot open. It was a live camera feed of Judy. She was tied to a chair, gagged, and blindfolded in the middle of a cement room that looked almost like a prison cell.

He wanted to scream out her name, but his voice had escaped him and nothing came out. What was this? How were they doing this?

"You could have prevented this, Nick," A disembodied voice said from the computer.

"Who are you, why are you doing this?" Nick screamed as he slammed the desk, tears starting to pool out of his eyes.

"This is your fault, and now you get to watch your mistake," the voice was deep, almost demonic like.

"No, please let her go," the fox cried out, but there was nothing he could do. There was a loud bang and that was it. Nick saw Judy's body go limp as blood seeped out of her chest, pooling below her.

Nick couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. His partner, his best friend, was killed right in front of his eyes. He wanted to scream out, to react in any way, but his mind was in too much shock for his body to do anything. Without her, his life is meaningless.

A creaking noise from behind him got him to slowly turn around and look at what it was. In a flash, his vision was nothing but the disfigured, decomposed face of Judy, her mouth dripping blood and her eyes missing from their sockets. The vulpine looked in terror as the demon began screaming over and over at him:

"How could you let this happen to me Nick."

Nick jolted up awake from his desk, breathing heavily. He jerked his head around, trying to gain his bearings. He was still at his desk and he determined it was early morning from the light shining in from a different room. He let out a soft breath and closed his eyes "Just another nightmare," he whispered calmly to himself, trying his best to slow his breathing. He must have passed out from exhaustion while researching Asher.

"Nick?" The fox jumped from the sudden voice and turned around with fists clenched and raised, only to find a startled looking McCabe.

"Uh, you alright?" The wolf asked.

Nick put down his fists and quickly apologized, "Yah, just had a long night." He said, thinking about his latest night terror, already trying to shove it out of his mind.

"You didn't stay up all night did you?" McCabe asked.

"No, I passed out sometime in the middle of the night and just woke up a couple minutes ago."

"Oh, that explains why you weren't present this morning," McCabe said, getting him a questioning look from the fox. Nick looked at the time and silently cursed himself. It was almost ten already. Nothing he can do about it now.

"You hungry, I need something to eat?" Nick asked. Working with no fuel in the system wouldn't do him any good, and he is absolutely starving at the moment. Also, be needed to do something that would take his mind off of Judy for a little bit, he was still a little shaken from his dream.

"Sure, I could go out for a bite."

Half an hour later and they were sitting down at a café waiting for their food. Nick made it a point not to go to his usual spot where him and Judy would go everyday. Nick sipped on some coffee as he gave the details of his findings to McCabe.

"So someone's mad at Asher for being corrupt so they kidnapped him? But then where does Officer Hopps come into play, why do they need her?" McCabe wondered, seeing if he was on the same page as Nick.

"That's the question, isn't it?," Nick stated.

The next couple minutes were spent in silence as they waited for their food. Nick kept his eyes on his phone, still looking into Mr. Asher's past as best he could from his mobile. Eventually they were given their food and the two began to eat.

"You know, Nick," McCabe spoke up after swallowing a chunk of food, "You never told me why you became a cop," he stated, bringing back the topic of conversation from yesterday before they got to the Asher estate. He wasn't really in the mood to go into the whole backstory of how he ended up joining the force, but he felt like he owed the wolf considering McCabe told him why he joined the force.

"It's kind of a long story," Nick sighed as memories flooded his head, "It all started on Judy's first day on the job," Nick halfheartedly smiled. He was about to continue until his phone began buzzing in his paw. He looked down at the number calling him and didn't recognize it. He rarely got calls from anyone anymore when it didn't relate to work, or it was Judy, so it was odd to him that he was getting a call. Then the thought of Mr. Big popped into his head. It could be another contact with more information that could really jumpstart everything. He answered the phone and brought it up to his ear, "Hello?" What happens next will just add to the unavoidable nightmares.

"Nick, Nick is that you?" a barley audible whisper came through the phone, but Nick would know that voice from anywhere.

"Judy?!" he nearly shouted, getting a few animals near by to give him a look, but he was unfazed. McCabe nearly choked on his food when he heard her name.

"Nick, I don't have much time, they're already looking for me," she was in a panic, her breathing short and raspy. Nick could hear noises in the background of animals shouting, obviously looking for Judy.

"Judy, do you know where you are. What can I do to help?" The fox asked, wanting nothing more than to just pull her through the phone and out of dangers way. He needs to fully embrace her and make sure she never gets taken away from him again. What he would give anything just to see her.

"I don't know exactly when I am. It's dark, wet and cold, and everything seems to be made out of cement. Nick, I don't know how much longer they're going to keep me alive, please you need to save us. They're going to…" she was cut short as a different voice appeared.

"There you are, bitch," he said. Nick then heard loud thump followed by the phone falling to the ground. A few moments later, the sound of footsteps grew louder until they were right next to the phone and then the call was ended.

Nicks paw slowly fell as shock began to take over. McCabe looked at Nick wanting to know what was going on. Nick said nothing and just sat there with a blank expression. 'She's alive,' he thought to himself. Out of all of that, it was the only thing to stick in his thoughts. She isn't dead, he was able to hear her voice again telling him that his Carrots was alive. And she was in trouble. She needed him more than ever. The case may have started with nothing, but as Nick looked at his phone he realized Judy may have given him just what he needed, a phone number.

Nick flung a fifty on the table as he stood up and marched out of the café towards the cruiser, McCabe staying hot on his tail. Nick knew he needed something and the phone Judy called from could be the key.

"I'm coming for you Judy," He mumbled to himself as he sped towards the precinct.

* * *

 **Well, how aboutb that little 'reunion' huh. I hope you enjoyed the little twist. As for Judy, seems she is still alive for now. And to those of you asking for Judy's pov, stay around for a few more chapters and you may just get it.**

 **I know this chapter took s little longer to get out, but I'm back at college so unfortunately I'm not going to be able to get chapters up as fast, so sorry for that but schooling comes first.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has supported the story this far, I really appreciate it. It always puts a smile on my face seeing that someone has left a comment of followed and favorited, so thanks a whole lot.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


	6. Out From the Shadows

Nick paced back and forth, arms behind his back, waiting anxiously as the tech specialist did her job. McCabe was leaned up against a counter looking slightly worried about his partner. The look the fox had on his face scared the wolf for reasons he couldn't explain. Fear, anger, angst, sorrow; a mixture of all those things would describe what McCabe saw observing Nick. He wanted to say something to maybe comfort him, but what could he say? He hardly knows the fox, and has no idea what he is going through. All he could do was watch as the vulpine tore himself apart from the inside.

Nick, uncharacteristically, was being very impatient. He has already asked the techy three times if she had anything, all the answers being no. She was starting to become annoyed by the fox officer. If he would just let her do her work, it would go by faster. But she kept her cool, being patient and kind with Nick. She knows that he's going through hard times and the last thing she wanted to do was upset him more.

After the phone call, Nick wasted no time in getting back to the precinct and immediately bringing his phone down to the tech lab to have his recorded call be studied to see if they could get anything on her location. Now they were looking into the number to see if they could find out if anyone was registered to it. The animal doing that is a female impala named Tyra Billings Unfortunately, Nick knew there wasn't going to be anyway to track the call; there was no doubt that they had destroyed the phone by now. But anything and everything helps in these investigations.

"I got some bad news for you, Wilde," Tyra sighed as she turned from her screen to face the two canines. Nick's face sunk hearing those words, fearing the words that were about to come from her mouth.

"The phone registered to the number belongs to a disposable phone which makes it nearly impossible to track. Also, I knew it would be a long shot, I ran a GPS search on the phone but nothing turned up," She was disappointed that she couldn't be more help.

Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Even with their best lead it still gives them nothing to go off of and it was frustrating the vulpine. He really hoped to get somewhere with this, wished that somehow it would just give them the location of Judy. He cursed himself for being so stupid; nothing is ever that easy. It was going to take more, its just that more usually comes with complications.

"I'm sorry, Nick," The impala gave her condolences, looking sadly the emotional fox.

"It's fine, you did what you could," Nick averted his eyes from everyone else's gaze as he snatched up his phone and headed back up towards ground level. He needed to think, and he has the perfect place he likes to go. He walked out of the room and up the stairs, leaving his partner behind.

McCabe looked at Tyra who looked at Nick with sympathy. "It's one of the saddest things I've seen," she sighed, turning back to the screen to work on other things.

"How close were they, actually?" The wolf questioned still staring at the door Nick exited.

"Inseparable," the impala said, "You'd think that they were a couple, but they'd never admit it. I've seen partners come and go, but none were as close as the fox and bunny." She stopped talking trying to stifle a laugh. "There's actually a bet going around the precinct about if they'll ever get together romantically. But now she's gone, and the fox I knew that was so full of life is gone."

McCabe suddenly felt really bad for Nick, almost as if he was sharing his sorrow. He knows it must hurt to lose someone, but knowing how close the two were made it all that worse. He felt like he needs to talk with him, to try and make him feel better somehow. He felt like the best thing the fox needs is a friend to talk to.

Nick always likes coming up to the roof of the precinct; it brings him a feeling of peace. The only times he usually comes up here is after a case has gone really bad, ending in a worst case scenario. The first time was one of the worst.

He and Judy were downstairs looking into a case that had been active for a week. A crazy father wolf who was legally separated from his kids after a divorce, had kidnapped the two cubs and vanished. Judy and Nick were put on the case and they eventually were able to catch him. They put him in interrogation and hammered at him for a good hour until he finally broke, but the words he said would haunt the fox, "I knew I wouldn't be able to have them, so I decided nobody could," the wolf had said through tear soaked bloodshot eyes.

A squad that was on standby was sent to the location given and told to proceed with extreme caution. Only it wouldn't matter. When they got there all they found were two pups both with a single gunshot wound at the base of their skull.

Nick couldn't handle it. The thought of those children lying dead, lifeless, on the ground was a cursed image that flickered in his head. He wanted to vomit, he wanted justice. He wanted to storm into that interrogation room and shoot the sick son of a bitch where he sat. He would have done it without a single regret. Instead, he just ran up to the roof.

After that, when the job felt like it was weighing him down and becoming too much, he came up here as a reminder to why he does it. You can see most of the city from atop this building, and it was such a magnificent sight. Millions of animals living together in a single city, most of them innocent of doing anything. It is those select few who aren't innocent that drives him. To protect the innocent, to "make the world a better place", as his bunny counterpart would always say.

Nick sat on a lonely box on the middle of the roof looking out across the city. It's the middle of the day, the sun beating down on him from the center of the sky. Most animals are at work going through their daily routine, most of them going on with their day as if everything was normal, and here Nick sat on top a roof as an emotional disaster devastated his mind. He just wants her back, so very much. He wants the pain to go away. He wants everything to go back to normal.

The foxes ears perked up at the sound of the door behind him opening. He slightly turned his head to get a glance at who was up here with him, though he was pretty sure he already knows who it is. As he suspected, it was the rookie slowly making his way towards him. Nick couldn't help but smile at the wolf; loyalty is definitely a trait he has.

"I bet this wasn't what you were expecting me to be like," Nick chuckled. Everyone always assumes that Nick is some sort of superhero, or a sarcastic fox with an iron shell, but that's just not reality. He's any ordinary animal; it may be harder to get under his skin, but he does have a breaking point.

"Not quite," McCabe admitted, standing next to Nick. "I expected you and Officer Hopps to be some sort of unstoppable force that no one could escape. I expected everything to be a lot more 'lively' is the best way I can explain it."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Nick looked down to the ground, a gloomy feeling settling over him.

"You've done quite the opposite actually." Nicks ears perked up and he looked up to meet the eyes of his young partner who just slightly grinned at him.

"You've done so many things in your short time here, you and Officer Hopps. You two are the talk of the whole academy. We all strive to be like you, but it seemed impossible. How could an ordinary wolf like myself compare myself to someone like you. But in these past few days you've shown that you are just like everyone else. You're a mammal who has feelings just like everyone else. Your just like everyone else, just like me. And that makes your accomplishments that much more impressive."

Nick looked at the ground thoughtfully for a moment. He was really starting to like this wolf, that's for sure. His gaze moved up and his eyes met with McCabe. "I still haven't told you why I joined, have I?" Nick asked. McCabe shook his head. He s been anticipating the backstory from his hero, but has been continually interrupted; he figured it would be worth it though.

"I never planned on joining, I was happy where I was in my life," Nick began, knowing he was about to blow this wolf's mind. "I was a criminal, to be blunt about it. More specifically, I was a con-artist. Scammed hundreds of animals out of their cash and I made a lot of money doing it. I also did a few other things, but I'm not really aloud to speak about it," Nick shrugged, thinking back to the agreement he made with the mayor and the Chief. At this point, he had McCabe hooked; the wolf look baffled, not believing that such a good animal used to live a life of crime.

"So what happened, what changed?" McCabe beckoned for the story to continue.

Nick couldn't help but smile as he thought back to meeting that determined little bunny. It was slightly cute how hard she tried (She would hit him if she knew he thought like that). The memories were bitter sweet as the thought of never sharing a happy moment again haunted him.

"It was Judy that changed everything. At first she had unknowingly helped me with a scam I had planned out involving a very large popsicle. To make a long story short she caught me and tried to arrest me. Let's just say it didn't work." Nick went on to explain about everything that happened after that. The Nighthowlers, how she blackmailed him, solving the case, and then her asking if he wanted to join the force.

"I guess you can say I joined because it felt good being a good guy for once and actually making a difference in the world. But in all honesty if it wasn't for Judy I would never have joined. You can thank her for me being so awesome," the fox boasted playfully, getting McCabe to chuckle. "That is if we ever get to see her again," she let out a depressed sigh.

McCabe looked at Nick with a frown, "You must really love her, don't you?"

Nicks head shot up with wide eyes and he was ready to defend against that statement, but the words never came from his mouth. His face softened and he faced back towards the city. He and Judy fought against others accusing them of being a couple, of being in love; they would always deny it. It is true that they are nothing but friends, but he wishes they could be more. "I really do," he sighed, "I pray that I will be able to tell her myself one day, that I love her and wish for nothing more than to spend the rest of eternity with her. If only I had the courage before all this happened." Nick had a look of longing on his face; he had imagined over and over again in his head what he'd do if he ever sees Judy again.

"I bet you'll save her, your one of the best in the city. If you can't do it nobody can, but I have faith that you'll be able to find your real partner and you won't have to take care of me anymore," McCabe smiled. Nick laughed as he wiped away a tear from his eye, this wolf is really something.

"Thanks McCabe, I needed that." The two sat in silence for a while, watching the city move in a constant hustle. It wasn't until Nick got a buzz on his phone that he broke his gaze. He took his phone and saw a text from Ben. It was telling him to come downstairs and that it was urgent. Immediately his mind went to Judy. Nick stood up and quickly made his way downstairs towards the front desk. McCabe sighed, 'always running off,' he thought before walking after him.

Nick got to Ben who had a look of horror plastered on his face as he stared Deeply at a screen in front of him. "Ben, what is it what's wro…" he didn't finish. He stopped midsentence which left his mouth hanging wide open as he looked at what was on the TV. A masked animal of medium size stood with paws crossed behind his back, but that's not what grabbed his attention. In the background kneeling on the floor and looking towards the ground was the bunny who had been haunting his mind for weeks. It was unmistakable the exhaustion that was present throughout her body. He recognized the clothes she was in as being the same ones she wore on the night they went drinking for their celebration, only they were much more dirty and torn. There was also noticeable blood stains on her fur and cloths that made the foxes fur stand up in anger.

Next to the bunny, not that Nick was paying much attention to him, the missing moose politician was in the same position as Judy. Nick had been right, this was all connected.

The masked animal had been silent, just staring at the camera that was recording him. Nick felt as though he was staring right at him, straight into his soul. Just seeing him stand there made the foxes blood boil like never before. There was nothing he wanted more at this moment to beat this mammal to a bloody pulp. McCabe had gotten down there and realized what was happening. He looked at Nick and noticed a killer look in his eyes, along with his aggressive tone in body. It makes the wolf uneasy to see him like this.

"Speak, come on, talk you son of a bitch," Nick growled softly. He wanted, no he needed to know what these animals wanted. Why did they take Judy. What are they trying to gain from this. After what seemed like forever of waiting, he spoke up.

"Mammals of Zootopia," he said, his voice being modified by something. "I am the Speaker and I come with a message. This once great city has fallen into dark times. Impurities and corruption has swept through these once fine streets leaving chaos in its wake. Crime is higher than ever before, poverty touches in every corner of this city, unemployment is reaching new records, and more and more animals are being thrown to the streets. That time is about to come to an end." He paused and the camera panned out revealing more tied up mammals all kneeling down for the whole city to see.

"The tides of change are upon us all, and we will cleanse this city one mammal at a time," from off screen two mammals were dragged in and placed down in front of the Speaker. One being a male bobcat dressed in jeans and a white tank top, and the other a horse wearing a nice suit. Both were squirming around, trying to scream, but all that came out was muffled whimpers.

The Speaker pointed towards the bobcat, "This is Robert Feline, convicted for multiple rapes but was never caught by the ZPD." Nick knows exactly who that cat is, he has been able to evade the police for months and it frustrated him beyond belief. "And this is Spencer Williams, the head of a bank that has cheated thousand out of their hard earned money. Today we make an example out of them." Nick suddenly realized what was going on, but all he could do was stare as the Speaker snapped his fingers and two gunshots came from off screen. In an instant the two fell over dead as blood spilled from their heads. Nick heard McCabe gasp is shock and heard Clawhauser crying next to him. He could blame either of them, this was a public execution and it is sick and twisted.

"We are here to do what no government can, cleanse the streets of corruptness and evil. This will not be the last time you see us, a revolution has begun and we are the spark that will start a wildfire. Change is coming, and nothing can stop it." And with that, the screen went black then changed back to what it was originally on.

Nick couldn't stop looking at the screen, still seeing the image of two animals being shot and killed in live television for everyone to see. This is far bigger than anyone could have imagined. These people have just declared war on the city, claiming to be the new enforcers of the law deeming themselves the judge, jury, and executioners. But that isn't how things work here, no matter how atrocious the crime. They will pay for this, and he will get Judy back before they can get to her, that he promises.

* * *

 **Sorry about the delay, school had me busy this last week with tests and essays. Luckily that's over for now and I was able to get this chapter done before I'm bombarded with more work. I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter, and for those waiting for the appearance of Judy, next chapter is all about her.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has supported this story, you're all awesome. I'd really enjoy to here what you think of this chapter and the story as a whole so far.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


	7. Prison

A low grumble emanated from the bunnies throat, groaning as she lied in bed. A large headache caused Judy to rest her head in her hands as she tried to soothe the pain. She attempted to open her eyes, but her vision was hazy. The bunny tried to remember what happened last night. Her and Nick were working, then they went out for a drink to celebrate a year long partnership. It's hard to believe it's already been that long. She's so glad that she saw him going into that ice cream shop, so many great things have come from that little happenstance of them meeting. However, her memory became a little fuzzy when she tried to remember what happened at the bar; she remembers getting there but after that it is all just a blur. She'd have to ask Nick when they meet up later today.

Judy pushed herself up to a sitting position, but something was off. This didn't feel like her bed. Maybe Nick took her to his place and put her in his bed, but she doubted Nick slept on this thing. It was all lumpy and full of holes, not comfortable at all. What was going on? She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear up her vision so she could see. Eventually the bunnies vision became normal; however, her heart started pounding from seeing where she was. She was in a small room, probably a five by five foot space, with metal bars keeping her in here. It was like some sort of prison cell. But it wasn't a normal one like they have back in the station, it's darker, colder, and a lot more creepy. Something was happening and its making Judy's fur stand up.

At this point, Judy figured she had two options: sit here and wait until the situation unfolds itself, or take the initiative and find out what is going on now. It is honestly quite obvious the choice she was going with.

Jumping up from her bed, the bunny ran over to the bars and began to examin them. She pulled on them to test their structural integrity and they were held solidly in place, not budging and inch. She looked left and right down a poorly lit corridor but didn't see anything to give her any clue as to where she is. In front of her is another row of cells that were seemingly empty. Judy could be sure about one thing however, this wasn't a police holding cell, which meant all sorts of bad news. She just wishes she could remember what happened last night, wanting to know exactly how she ended up in this cell.

"Hello, anybody out there," she shouts into the dark hallways, but there is no reply, only silence. "I am officer Judy Hopps of the ZPD, and I demand to speak to someone," she yells more aggressively, even though she figures whoever is keeping her here isn't a big fan of the law. Still no response. Tapping her foot aggressively on the ground, she starts thinking how exactly she is going to get out of this. Judy examines the room for any flaws, but everything save the bed seemed to be made of solid concrete. "Just great," the bunny breathes out impatiently, "I'm trapped in a cell with no idea how I got here and there isn't another animal in sight."

"I wouldn't be sure about that sweetheart," Judy nearly jumps out of her pelt from the sudden voice. She flips back around towards the hallway and peers out into the darkness but doesn't see anything. Her eyes aren't the greatest for the dark. She wishes Nick was here, for multiple reasons.

"Who said that?" She asks into the nothingness.

"Just your friendly neighbor," an elderly voice says to Judy. Judy wanted to groan at the vagueness she was getting. She just wants to know where she is and how she can get out. Hopefully she can get a little more information out of this person.

"Alright neighbor, where am I and why am I here?" Judy questioned the voice.

"You're really talkative aren't you? Well, I wish I could answer your questions but I, myself, have no clue as to what's going on. I just woke up here one day and have been trapped by this group of animals." He begins explaining to Judy who listened with growing anxiousness. The more he spoke, the more she feared what was going to happen to them.

"So there's a group, what do they look like?"

"Beats me, they all wear masks to hide their faces, and I've only seen three of them. Their species vary from what I've seen. They also seem to take turns checking in on us and bringing us our daily food, if you can even call it that," he tells the bunny. Whoever they are, Judy suspects that they've done this before. It seems too elaborate and professional to be done by amateurs. Now if only she knew why they wanted her.

"Wait, did you say us, as in others," Judy came to the sudden realization.

"yeah, from what I know there's you, me, and five others. That's just who I know of. Most of them aren't the most talkative, however; they can all probably hear us talking and they're just listening in," he explained. "Isn't that right Conner?"

"Shut up Earl, and keep that cop quiet would you," a much younger voice says with clear annoyance.

"Come on lighten up a little. Sure we're all trapped here for unknown reasons but it could be worse." There was no response for a while giving off the impression that Conner is done talking.

"Earl, honey, would you mind keeping it down, some of us are trying to sleep. It's already bad enough having to be in all this filth," another voice cut in, this time belonging to another female.

"You know you don't need all that sleep to be beautiful, Katherine, your quite purrfect as you are," Earl said, starting to flirt with the other captive. Judy inwardly groaned at the terrible pun, assuming Katherine is a feline, it reminds of Nick's bad jokes. Which reminds her, how is Nick going to react when he finds that she's gone and how long will it take him. Knowing the clever fox, it won't take very long before he starts looking for her. If she doesn't break out of here, she'll bet her life that her partner will come to the rescue.

"Everything alright over there officer," Judy heard Earl ask her.

"All things considered, it could be worse," Judy admitted. Besides the headache from her hangover, and the loss of memory, she feels fine; though she could go for some water.

"That's the spirit, you could learn a thing or two from the cop, Conner," Earl laughed, earning an audible groan from Conner.

"You know you don't have to refer to me as officer, or cop right? My name is Judy," The bunny tells Earl.

"Yah, but it's more fun calling you officer." Judy just sighs, deciding to drop it; it isn't what's important anyway. What's important is figuring out where they are and coming up with a plan to get out of here. Unfortunately, something tells her those two things will take some time. So the only thing to do is investigate. There has got to be some sort of connection between all of them.

"Hey Earl, mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Sure, I'm not going anywhere so talking is really all I've got."

"Do you have any idea who would do this to you; any enemies or something like that?" Judy questioned.

"Ah, those kinds of questions. I'll save you some time in saying none of us are connected in anyway. I'm a middle aged worker, Katherine is a millionaire model, and Conner is a college kid. Our backgrounds don't mix at all. Whoever these psychos are, they're taking animals by random."

Judy frowns, she doesn't think that's the case. Everything seems too perfectly planned out to be just random. This has to be connected in some way.

"Alright, since we're already here I guess we should get to know each other," Judy proposed. She hears Conner mumble, Katherine scoff, but Earl seems fine with it.

"I do like meeting new people," He said.

For the next little bit the two talked about themselves. Judy told Earl all about home in Bunnyburrow, told him about her dream of becoming a cop and the reality of it today. She didn't bring up the nighthowler case at all, mostly because it's still a rough subject that most animals don't like to dwell on.

On the other side of the conversation, Judy finds out that Earl is a fox who works for a construction company, and has apparently been doing that for nearly twenty years. He was married but divorced, though he said it was on good terms. They had just drifted apart and didn't love each other anymore. He says that they still keep in contact even after all these years.

"Other than that, there's nothing really interesting about me," Earl finished. Judy was about to make a comment on the foxes life, but stopped and perked her ears up at the sound of footsteps coming towards them. Along with that she could hear a soft mumbling noise. She could only assume these are her captors.

Moments later four large figures appeared dressed in tactical-like gear, all of them wearing masks to cover their faces. However, she could still tell one was a bear by his size, and one a rhino from the horns. Other than that, she couldn't see any features. Two of them were in front while the other took the rear. As the hot closer, Judy started making out another body on the back of the bear.

They walked until they were right next from Judy; there they opened up the cell straight across from her and tossed the animal on the bed, getting him to release an uncomfortable groan. The locked up the cell and were about to leave, but Judy wasn't going to just stand here and not say anything.

"Hey you four, I demand you tell me where I am," she shouted at the animals who were much larger than her, by a lot. They turned towards her cell, faced each other, then back at Judy; they stared at her for a second before breaking out laughing which didn't sit well with the rabbit.

"Who are you to demand anything from us, little bunny," the bear said mockingly, threatening her by flashing his large claws.

Judy stared coldly at the animals, a ferocity clear in her eyes, "I've taken down criminals much larger and scarier than you, you'll have to try a little harder than that to scare me," she growled at them. This unsettled the four slightly, but evidently just laughed it off. What could this little bunny do to them?

"Your lucky we ain't aloud to harm ya, but we can have our fun by a different means," a smaller animal said, reaching behind his back and pulled out a large pole. After pressing a button and releasing a large electrical current, Judy realized it was not just a pole. It is a large cattle-prod and it did scare her a little. She had to get tazed As part of training and that's wasn't a fun experience. That was under a controlled environment though; God knows what they would do to her.

"Now I suggest you be a good rabbit and we won't have to use this," he threatened her, getting his message across quite clearly. Nothing more was said and the four went on their way.

"Well, I for one can say that you are much braver than me," Earl said, "I wouldn't be able to stand up to them like that," he admits to the bunny.

"These aren't the first 'intimidating' criminals I've come across. Most of them are the same though; all bark and no bite." Judy isn't scared of them, even if she knows that they can hurt her. She wasn't about to let some low life thugs get under her skin. Besides, give her some time and she'll be out of here, one way or another she will get out.

It only took a week for her to slip past them. In the days leading up to her escape she examined everything she could about the guards movement, trying her best to memorize their schedule. It seemed that twice a day at the same times they would bring in another poor soul and lock them away. Some were nice and talkative but most kept to themselves not uttering a word to this growing 'community' of kidnapped animals. With all this activity going on, it just confirmed Judy's suspicions of this group. Whoever they are, they are professionals. With all these kidnappings it has to have people on high alert and yet they still manage to get who they want on a daily basis. These animals are good, and it concerned the bunny of just what the fate of everyone here is going to be.

Judy still couldn't figure out the reasoning for this, none of it made sense. With every animal she questioned, at least the ones who would actually talk to her, they all came from different backgrounds with no clear connection between them. It made no sense to her and it was starting to drive her mad. But it wouldn't matter if she could just escape. If she gets out of here then she can blow this whole operation out of the water. It would be the the biggest bust since Bellwether.

The unfortunate thing was that the guards animals didn't seem to make any kind of mistake, and that was going to be the only way for Judy to get out of here; exploiting some kind of weakness would be her key out. And they may be professionals, but their still just mammals and were bound to make a mistake. That opportunity came about a week after Judy first arrived.

It was that time of day, early in the morning, when they would bring in another prisoner; however it was different this time. Instead of the usual four guards, it was only one, him being the smallest of the group; a wolf of she had to guess. She was near the bars of her cell and saw him walking down with a body slung over his shoulder of a smaller mammal and he was mumbling some angry words under his breath. An idea popped into the mind of the bunny, and she knew she has to at least try it. Worst case scenario, as far as she could tell, is that she would get tazed.

When the wolf got close enough, Judy hopped up and tugged the body just hard enough for him to slide off his shoulder. The wolf didn't even realize it was the bunny who caused it. He just cursed loudly and went to pick him up again, fall directly into Judy's trap. When his face was close enough, Judy grabbed onto his shoulder and slamming his face into the bars as hard as she could. There was a brief look of surprise on his face before being knocked out on impact.

"Uh Judy, what was that?" Earl asked.

"The sound of freedom," Judy said quietly yanking a set of keys off from the wolf. She unlocked her cell and pushed the door open, having to also push aside the bodies of the wolf and the other prisoner. Within a few moments she was in front of Earl's cell getting her first look at him. On the other side of the bars stood an older looking fox who looked astonished at the bunny.

"You really are something, you know that officer?"

"So I'm told," she giggled, "Now it's time to get the rest of you out," she stated bringing up the keys, only to be stopped by the sounds of other voices. Judy looked over and noticed the rest of the guards finally catching up.

"Looks like you don't have anytime," Earl said.

"But I cant just leave you here," she seethed.

"There isn't time to argue, just get out of here and tell others. You'll save us then. Now go," he urged. She knows he's right, but she was still reluctant to leave them. However, the sounds of their voices getting closer got her to finally just leave them.

She ran the opposite way from the guards and down the long hallway of cells, most of them being filled with animals, until she came to a split hallway. Down the left were some more guards and the right was clear, she took the obvious route. Not long after, she could here shouting from far behind her, no doubt they were searching for her now. She needed to get out of here quickly, but this place just seemed to wind in endless hallways. She sprinted from corridor to corridor trying to find an exit, but she was having no luck.

She turned around a final corner only to see a whole squad with guns in paws. She flipped around and was going to go the other way only for that direction to be blocked as well. She was trapped. There was only one place for her to go. She drove into a room, closed the door and locked it. She has nowhere to go, but at least this would slow them from taking her back to that cell.

The room she was in seemed to be some sort of office. A large desk was placed in the middle of the room, which wasn't anything special. However, whoever's office this is left a phone on the desk, giving Judy a burst of hope and energy. She jumped on the desk and grabbed the phone seeing if she could get any information. However, the phone wasn't anything special, just an old flip phone which Judy guesses is a burner phone. There was nothing on it, but that didn't mean she couldn't do anything. There's always one animal out there that the bunny can rely on.

She dialed the number and jumped under the desk as she heard the sound of many voices get near her. It rang a few times before a confused voice picked up the phone. Just hearing his voice made the bunny come to tears, she misses him so much and there hasn't been a moment she hasn't thought of him while trapped here.

"Nick, Nick is that you?" a barley audible whisper came through the phone, but Nick would know that voice from anywhere.

"Judy?!" The bunny heard him nearly scream. Judy jumped at the sound of the guards trying to break down the door. She was running out of time.

"Nick, I don't have much time, they're already looking for me," Judy was in a full panic, it would only be moments until they get through that door.

"Judy, do you know where you are. What can I do to help?" Nick asked sounding desperate.

"I don't know exactly when I am. It's dark, wet and cold, and everything seems to be made out of cement. Nick, I don't know how much longer they're going to keep me alive, please you need to save us. They're going to…" And that's when the door gave out. A squad of guards filed into the room, one immediately spotted the rabbit and pointed her out.

"There you are, bitch," he said, dragging her out from under the desk and punching her in the head, knocking her out cold. Immediately after the phone was destroyed.

"So what are we going to do with her?" one of them asked.

"Orders say to take her to the boss," one stated.

"I almost feel bad for the little bunny," another snickered before carrying Judy away and towards their boss.

Judy jerked awake, ready for a fight but as she jerked around she realized that she couldn't move. She looked down a saw that both her arms and legs were strapped to a metal chair and there was no way to move them. As she examined the straps, a wave of pain hit her, suddenly remembering the fist coming into contact with her head.

"I've got to hand it to you, Ms. Hopps, you sure do live up to expectations." Judy looked up towards the voice as out from the shadows emerged another mammal, only this time there was no mask. The rabbit could see his face clear as day. He's a raccoon with a punchable smug face.

"Who are you, and what do you want," Judy growled.

"Oh Judy, it's simple what I want: peace and order," he smiled with his arms opened wide.

"So you kidnap others, how does that make sense?"

"Maybe you aren't as clever as they say," he taunted, "You aren't just normal mammals, no you are all criminals who never paid for their crimes," his demeanor suddenly changed to serious. He walked off into a corner where Judy couldn't see him.

"What are you talking about, I've never committed a crime in my life," Judy hollered. All she heard behind her was a hushed chuckle. Suddenly the sound of a cart being pushed over filled the room until it stopped right next to the bunny. She looked over and became wide eyed. On the cart were an assortment of different things, from surgical tools to torture tools. She gulped and looked fearfully at the raccoon as he stood in front of her.

"Officer Hopps, a true hero who is no better than the criminals she arrests," he picks up a scalpel and presses it against her throat, "Using the mob to get her way, threatening their life's of they fail to cooperate. That's not what I would call justice." He jerks the blade down slashing through Judy's shirt and into her skin. She let's put a yelp and seethes in pain. "You're no hero," the raccoon slashed across her leg gaining another yelp from Judy who was starting to tear, "You're just as bad as the rest of them," he spits as he jams the scalpel into her leg. Judy screeches in pain, begging for him to stop, but the raccoon was just getting started. He doesn't want his prisoner to even think about escaping again. He is going to break her. He grabbed another tool from his cart and went to work.

* * *

 **Well there you have it, the story so far in Judy's POV. Hope it's everything ya'll wanted.**

 **Sorry for such the long wait, in the final two weeks of this semester for college and it has been busy. I wouldn't expect another chapter for awhile and I apologize for that.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has supported this story, you are all great.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


	8. Step One

After what seemed like an eternity, Judy finally felt the pain stop. No more slashing, jabbing, piercing feeling on her body. She breathed heavily feeling blood ooz from her wounds. She was sure that the raccoon would let her bleed out. However, contrary to what she thought, she began feeling the mammal start bandaging her up. Why? Why go through all of that just to spare her? She tried to look over at him but her vision was much too fuzzy. She couldn't make out anything save for a solid looking shape that she assumed to be the doctor. She tried to speak her him, but all that came out was unrecognizable ramblings mixed with pained groans.

"Quiet now, officer," she heard the raccoon say, "and no moving, we don't want you dying on us quite yet, we have other plans for you," he chuckled coldly, sending a shiver down her spine. What on earth could they want with her now, they already tortured her for the torture, what is her purpose here.

The sound of a final tearing bandage made the doctor sigh with satisfaction. "There we go, all patched up," he clapped his paws together, "Now let's not have to do that again, huh? I'll make you a deal; you don't try to run away again and I won't skin off apart of you, or maybe I'll get myself a lucky rabbit foot," he laughed. He loosened up the straps and soon after Judy felt two large paws grasp her shoulders and began carrying her away. "Now have fun at the party," he shouted at her before the door slammed shut behind them.

The next little bit was all a blur for the bunny. She remembers being set down in a kneeling position and she could feel the presence of others. There was a lot of hushed talking followed by a long pause of silence. Judy felt like she needed to move and get out of there, but she couldn't. Her body was much too weak, and honestly she didn't want to. The thought of ever going back to that room with the doctor terrified her. She doesn't even want to think about the scars that would CV remain on her body. The stinging sensation of being cut into repeatedly still lingered, making it painful to even breath.

The silence ended as a low threatening voice cut through the air. Judy couldn't make out anything he was saying, in fact she could feel herself fading fast on the edge of consciousness. Suddenly, the sounds of gunshots echoed in the room causing the bunny to jump. She honestly expected to feel the force of a bullet hit her but was relieved to find she was unscathed. However, that only raised the question of where did the bullets end up. She wished her vision wasn't all blurry.

Next thing she knew, Judy was being dragged away again for an unknown amount of time. After awhile she felt herself being hoisted into the air followed by some muffled speaking, this time, though, she understood it, "Let this be an example of what happens when you try to escape," the voice sneered. Judy heard a few gasps. She was then lowered and she felt herself being put into what she figured was her bed back in her cell.

"Judy," she heard someone call to her who she knew could only be Earl, no one else in here cared weather or not she was fine. The bunny didn't respond, not having the strength to do so. She felt herself becoming weaker and weaker, not being able to move an ounce of her body, until she finally gave in to the exhaustion. Judy felt herself fall into unconsciousness, not knowing if she would wake up again.

Weeks have passed now since the first broadcast of the public execution and from then the whole city has gone to shit.

Nick faced his computer rubbing his paws on his head. He didn't think things could have gotten worse than the nighthowlers incident, but oh was he so wrong. This was ten times worse. The executions have sent the city into a mass panic and there is no end in sight for how bad things are getting. The city has done everything in its power to assure everyone's safety, issuing a mandatory curfew, staking out police and any volunteers on every street corner as to ensure the safety of every citizen, but it all seemed for nothing.

With each passing day more and more animals have been reported missing and all of them just seem to disappear without a trace, nothing but a little card saying 'Tides of Change' ever being left behind. If that wasn't bad enough already, the first broadcast wasn't the last, not by far. Every other day at the same time every channel is forcefully taken over and two more animals are executed as the insane 'Speaker' spits out his nonsense and they couldn't do anything to trace it. It was starting to drive the fox mad. It didn't help either that he knew eventually that Judy would be one of them that would be executed in front of everyone's eyes. That would be the day Nick knew he would lose control. That's a day he hopes won't ever happen.

He hasn't seen her again since that first broadcast, nowhere in the background like before. It actually was reliving to not see her at all, rather than have to witness her amongst all that killing.

Then to add to the already massive hellish situation that group has put them in, it seems Zootopia's underground has started getting ballsier. With all the police focusing on the domestic terrorism, your everyday average criminals have started getting busier even with the looming threat of being abducted and executed. At first, Nick was assigned to work as the lead against the 'Tide of Change' but that was before all the public executions. Now he bounces between helping with that case and looking into the near infinite calls that come in every day. It has been awhile since the fox got a full night's rest.

After the first public executions, the FBI were immediately called into action. The day after the broadcast, Nick remembers the station surrounded by government vehicles and the building flooded with mammals in suits. Nick's familiar with them, having worked a joint case awhile back, close to the beginning of when he started. This was different though. This time they handled everything mostly in secrecy, only sometimes briefing the officers, but even then it was very vague which just further frustrated the fox.

He hates taking the backseat. He wants to be in the driver's seat, hell even the passenger seat, but being kept so much in the dark on such a huge thing was starting to make Nick's blood heat up. He just wants some information on the lunatics they are trying to bring in, that seems pretty fair he thinks.

At the sound of someone clearing their throat, Nick blinked a few times and snapped out of his thoughts. He doesn't know how long he had been like that, but for however long he was spaced out he had been staring at nothing but a picture of him and Judy. It was the one they took the day before she was taken from him, as part of their one year celebration as partners. It's the last taken picture of her and he looks at it more than he would want to admit.

Nick looked over at who was trying to get his attention, only to be met with a coffee mug being shoved in his face. He looked over it to see his partner smiling tiredly at the fox. Nick has to admit, the kid has grown on him. He is a fantastic cop, one of the better rookies to come through here (not better than himself of course), and is great to just hang around. Plus, he remembers to always bring the fox his coffee in the morning with out him even asking him to.

"Good to see you this morning, McCabe," Nick said as he grabbed the hot cop of liquid energy, "and thank you as always."

"No problem," the wolf smiled, sitting down next to the fox as he let out a hefty sigh.

"Long night?" Nick questioned.

"Just another night of patrolling nonstop, at least the company is nice," he beamed.

"Paired with Abby again?" the fox asked as he grinned knowingly. Abby is an attractive wolf who has been here a little longer than Nick, but less than Judy. Also, McCabe's taken a bit of a likening towards her.

"Yah," the wolf admitted, "But that's not important. What's on the agenda for today?" McCabe deflected the conversation. Nick wasn't going to let this go, he would bring it up again and McCabe knows this.

"Just the usual," Nick turned back towards his computer and motioned towards the contents on it's screen. "We have a couple pawfulls of reports about potential ties with our favorite organization." Nick sighed. The two of them have gone and responded to a lot of calls these past couple weeks, all of which didn't end up giving them any useful information. These mammals are very good at keeping out of the line of sight.

"From patrolling to house calls, this day can't get better," the wolf chuckled.

"Could be worse my friend, could be much worse," Nick stated, hopping out of his chair ready to get on with the long day of work ahead of them.

"I don't see how things could be much worse, Officer Wilde," a familiar voice called over to the fox. Nick turned and faced the voice, having to look down to make eye contact with it's owner.

"It's been awhile, stripes," Nick folded his arms looking blankly at the rabbit.

"So it has," the rabbit responded. McCabe nervously looked between the two as he felt a building tension begin to rise. He doesn't know these two's history, but from what he can tell it isn't the best. At least that's what he thought until the two of the started laughing then walked over to each other and shared a friendly hug. It took him s second to realize what happened.

"It's good to see you Jack," Nick said happily.

"Same with you Nick," Jack grinned. Nick turned and faced his partner and gestured towards the bunny.

"McCabe, this is Jack Savage. Judy and I worked on a joint case with him and his partner awhile back," his smile faltered for a second as the thought of Judy crossed his mind which was clearly seen by the other two. McCabe was about to say something, but Nick continued on before he could. "Speaking of your partner, where is the beautiful Skye?" He questioned.

"She'll be around shortly, there were a few things she had to take care of when we got here," Jack explained.

"So why has it taken you too so long to get down here, I assumed you two would have been here much sooner?" Nick wondered.

Jack smiled shyly and scratched the back of his head, "Well, um… you see," he mumbled on getting the fox to be suspicious. What wasn't this rabbit telling him.

"It's because we were on our honeymoon," another voice butted in. Nick watched as a pure white fox walked up to Jack and gave him a small pack on the cheek. To be honest, Nick wasn't expecting that.

"You two married?" Nick asked with wide eyes.

"Yep, happiest day of my life," Sky beamed down at her husband.

"Well, congratulations I guess. Though I am a bit offended you didn't invite me to your wedding," Nick scoffed playfully.

"Yah, it was a bit sudden. There wasn't really much of anyone there to be fair," Jack said.

"No, it's fine." Nick remembers back when they first came here. The two did tend to act really friendly towards each other, but Nick would never have guessed they'd get married. Comparing the two together is like night and day, but he guesses they make it work. That made him start to think about him and Judy. Maybe a relationship between them could work if someone like Jack and Skye can get together.

"Well this is certainly a nice reunion, but we didn't come by to just say hello," Skye informed the fox.

"Oh? So you got something for us to do?" Nick questioned hungrily. He has been craving to do something worth while on this case.

"Yes we do. Seems that that little organization finally got a little sloppy. During what we can only assume to be another kidnapping, they weren't expecting their victim to be armed and one of them was shot right between the eyes. The victim was an ex-marine so what would you expect," Jack debriefed them on the situation. 'Finally!' Nick screamed internally, they have something.

"What about the victim?" McCabe asked sounding slightly worried.

"He was shot a couple times in the body. Something must have spooked the others because they took off leaving everything there; the only time that has happened. He was rushed to the hospital and is currently in emergency surgery. They aren't sure he'll make it." Skye explained.

"What's his species, his name," McCabe demanded, becoming impatient. Nick has never seen him act like this which worried the fox about his partner.

"Uh, Kendal Walker, wolf," Skye said, confused by the wolves outbursts. Once he heard the name, Nick knew what was going on.

"Who is he?" Nick asked softly.

"My dad," McCabe replied weakly. He stood there for a moment as the others watched how he would react. Nick started to reach his paw towards him, but McCabe took a step back. "I need to go," he whispered.

"I understand, I'll let Bogo know," Nick told him. The wolf thanked his partner before taking off out of the building.

"What are the chances of that," Skye asked aloud.

"No kidding," Nick sighed.

"So, should we go check out this body then?" Nick asked, getting the other two to agree. They walked away down towards the autopsy lab. Nick couldn't help but feel that this was the first step that would lead to taking down this organization, something that excited the fox more than anything could in his life at this point. These bastards have caused this city so much pain. He would make sure these assholes faced justice one way or another.


	9. Baby Steps

As Skye, Jack and himself made there way to the medical examiner to learn what they could from the body, Nick couldn't help but think to McCabe. What are the chances for his father to be a target of this malicious group of bastards? He supposed as likely as Judy being one, though she has some fame within the city. some seeing her as a good person, others who sided with Bellwether not so much. But why some random wolf? According to that insane Speaker guy, its because they think he's done something worth executing him over. But what could it be? And going off on another tangent, where the hell are they gathering all this intel from? Nick could see them having dirt on low life street thugs, and maybe some politicians, but some of the people that have been executed seem to have done some pretty obscure things that your common everyday mammal wouldn't know.

He's thrown this idea out before to others in the precinct, but he thinks there's some kind of leak coming from high up. Not necessarily from within the precinct itself, though he couldn't rule that out. Still, if there is someone high in power helping out this group that could spell disaster for the entire city. Then again, Nick figured this could just be him being paranoid. However, in times like these Nick didn't see that as a bad thing.

Sweeping that away from his mind for the moment, Nick thought back over to McCabe and hoped he was doing okay. They may have only been partners for a short time, but Nicks grown fond of the young wolf. They seem to share a lot of the same views about life, though not all. That's to be expected though, the two of them grew up in different places in different times so of course they'd have some differing opinions, but that didn't bother the fox much. He could tell that the wolf has his heart in the right places and that's really all that matters. Its pretty easy to see how big of a heart McCabe has, as many of the other officers have pointed out to the fox officer. Plus, that wolf has just impressed Nick many times with his knowledge of things. He's got a pretty good knowledge about the streets and about the law and just about how everything seems to work. The lupines smart, Nick could see that. He has a very bright future in both the precinct and in life. That's why he's so worried about him.

There are a couple reasons the fox fears for the wolf. First off, Nick knows how easy it is for something to quickly go south. McCabe could get into an unfavorable situation and not come out of it. That's pretty obvious, every cop knows what can happen when they sign up; it doesn't make things any less scary to think about. Having such a loving bright young mind taken away from this earth so early would just be a travesty that Nick didn't want to think about. Its just hard not to when everyday might be any of their last, especially in times like these.

Then theses his other fear. This life is not an easy one in many ways. One of those is how hard it can be on your mental state. In Nicks short time hers he's seen a large number of officers break down in many different types of ways. These included such things as uncontrollable sobbing, uncontrollable rage, to just completely shutting off from reality; all of which are not pleasant to witness. Nick himself has done all three things in the past month; mostly in private. With everything going on it would be easy to do any one of those things, among many others. So far, Nicks seen the wolf manage to keep everything under control. The fox had to admit he was strong both physically and mentally, but everyone has their breaking point. Nick just hopes that it won't ruin McCabe's life. Nicks heard of a few stories where officers have lost control and done things that he'd rather not dwell on.

Nick shook his head again, really needing to get these thoughts out of his head and focus on what was important; doing anything and everything to bring this sick terrorist group down. He knows why he's having these thoughts about his new partner. It's because he still feels guilty about what happened to Judy. He really likes McCabe, there is no lie in that statement, but every time he sees him, Nick can't help but wince on the inside as thoughts of his true partner flood into his mind. It's been torture, and he can not wait for the day when he reunited with Judy. He just hopes its under happy circumstances.

The elevator the had gotten on came to a stop and opened in the basement of the precinct, leading into a bland white hallway. The hallway was quite short as the basement area only held two rooms. On the left side was the precincts archives of all the cases that have been worked on over the many long years this place has been operating for. Nick and Judy have put quite a few files in there themselves.

On the right side of the hallway was the room where the three of them would be going. The autopsy lab which held possibly the beginning of many answers that they needed. Nick was about to go in but was stopped by a paw landing on his shoulder. He turned around to see the paw belonging to Skye who wore a worried face. Jack had the same expression. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going through their heads.

"Guys, I'm fine," Nick assured them with a small smile. He was glad they cared for him, but he was done being felt bad for. Now wasn't the time for that; what they needed to do was get to the bottom of everything.

Jack and Skye shared a look then looked back at the other fox, "We know that's not true, Nick." Skye said with a sympathetic look. "Its fine that you don't feel fine, because who would with all this going on and especially with what's happened to Judy. Its understandable, and honestly quite obvious, that your more than upset. We just need to hear it from your mouth that you won't let your emotions negatively impact the investigation." Both the agents looked seriously at the cop. Nick may have become pretty good friend with the two in the past, but these two took their jobs very seriously more so than possibly Judy which is saying a lot. So, he knew them asking him this wasn't meant to insult him, they just wanted to make sure they could rely on him and not have his emotions get the best of him.

Nick gave the two a warm, genuine smile, "Guys, I'm fine. Trust me I've had plenty of time to get my emotions under control," Nick thought back to the hours he has spent over the past couple weeks unloading mags in the firing range, and the hours he has spent beating on punching bags to relieve his rage. Its help partially; not completely, but enough that he's got everything under control. "You can count on me to have your backs," he assured them with confidence.

That seemed to make the other two happy as they smiled and gave a nod of approval.

"So, shall we continue?" Jack asked, bringing everyone back to the reason they were all down here in the first place.

The three of them entered the examination room and was met by a cheerful greeting from their chief medical examiner. Don Lallard always seemed strange to Nick. The capybara seemed to be a little too comfortable around the dead. Even though, Don was also one of the genuinely nicest mammals Nick has ever met. A little creepy? Yah. Still kind nonetheless.

"What have you got for us Don?" Nick questioned.

"Straight to business then, I miss our little banter Nick," Don said with slight disappointment in his voice.

"Sorry Don, but now is not really the time. Once all this is over then we can get back to the good old days." Nick said.

"Fair enough. Its always a pleasure to see you two again. Now, to the topic at paw." The capybara walked over towards the examination table where the body of a member of The Tides of Change was lying with a sheet over him. Don uncovered the top half to reveal a male bobcat with a hole in between his eyes just as Nick was told. Then Don started giving his report.

"The deceased is lynx rufus, male, in his mid-30's. The cause of death was a single gunshot to the head killing him instantly. The time of death was sometime between 10:00pm and 11:00pm when they entered the victims house and was met with resistance. Dental and fingerprints have been taken and sent down to forensics so they will tell us if he can be identified." Was that all? Because honestly, they already knew all of that. But by the smile on Don's face Nick figured that wasn't all.

"What's the surprise?" Don smiled, Nick knew him too well.

"During the autopsy, I just so happened to find this," Don joyfully expressed as he reached for a container behind him. "I didn't send this down to the lab yet because I thought you'd like to get a look at it here." Don extended the object towards nick and Nick took it from his paws. He brought it close to his face and examined the small, metallic looking thing that slid around in the container. Nick had no idea what he was looking at, but Don seemed to think it was important.

Jack and Skye were also examining it from behind Nick and were also kind of clueless to what it was. Skye did have an idea to what it could be but wasn't exactly sure to what it could be.

"Alright Dom, what are we looking at?" Nick question with interest. If Dom was this excited, then it had to be good.

"I can't be for sure, but if I'm correct I believe this is some sort of tracking chip. I noticed an interesting anomaly in his skin while examining him and was able to pull this out. Now, I'm no detective or anything, but it seems this organization likes to keep a close eye on all its members."

That being said, a thought immediately flew into my mind. "Can these be reversed tracked?" Dom just shrugged, saying he was no tech expert and that Nick would have to talk to someone else about that. The group exchanged a few more words, but at this point there was nothing else Dom could do for them. Dom told them he'd send the object up to the lab after he was all done and tell the forensic analyst to call them when they had an answer.

This excited Nick. Though not a lot of answers came from the autopsy, there brought a lot of opportunities for something big to break this investigation wide open. Things this big take time and one thing could shift the tides of an investigation for the better or for the worse. Hopefully this would be for the better.

"So, what should we do now?" Jack questioned.

Nick thought for a moment. He'd like to standby for forensics to get done, but who knows how long that could take. Also sitting around here doing nothing wouldn't be productive in any way. The only thing they could do made the fox somewhat uncomfortable. Going to his partners dads house to examine an attempted murder on the father's life felt weird. But there was not anything else the group could do.

Nick relayed his thoughts to the others, and they agreed, obviously not as uncomfortable about the situation. They weren't really connected with McCabe in any way so why would they have a problem investigating something related this close to him. He had felt similar feelings when he first investigated Judy's apartment. He had a feeling this was not going to be fun.

* * *

 **Man, its been awhile since I've touched this story. Well over a year. Let me tell you, college just sucks the life out of you. But a recent comment got me to look back at the story and got the old gear going again. Maybe not my best work I've done but that's fine.**

 **Depending on if anyone wants me to, I'll continue on with the story. I still have some ideas of where i was heading with it. Thanks for reading and comment what you thought of this chapter and give me any feedback you may think I need. Thanks again!**

 **Keep on Keeping on**

 **Peace Out**


	10. Progress

Nicks thoughts were correct. As the fox officer walked through the home of McCabe's father, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. This definitely seemed to be a family home, one that McCabe most likely grew up in as signs of children still lingered throughout the house; faded, but still present.

Walking around the house, Nick glanced at the pictures hanging on the walls and found that McCabe didn't look like he was a single child. If the pictures were anything to go off of, he looked to have two brothers and a sister. The only thing else the officer seemed to notice was that only the father was present in the recent pictures. In the pictures of a younger McCabe, there was a beautiful looking she-wolf who clung to McCabe's father. However, as you look farther down the line of pictures, she looks more and more sickly until she just isn't there anymore. Then there seemed to be a bit of a time skip until the next photo was taken. That next photo taken looked to be the one where McCabe graduated from the academy. The one before that he looked to be in his early teens maybe. The story that was told with these pictures was both intriguing and tragic all at the same time. McCabe never mentioned any of this to him, which is understandable. The two may now be partners but the wolf doesn't have to tell Nick everything, especially stuff this personal.

Turing away from the pictures, Nick went back to the reason for why he was here. He walked in the room where everything happened, and it was not a pleasant sight. Furniture was thrown everywhere, there was broken glass from a shattered coffee table, and then there was the obvious red mess everywhere. Nick could kind of put the scene in his head. It looked like McCabe's father was sat on a chair when the intruders broke in. The animals came in and saw the wolf in his chair. Next is mostly just speculation, but Nick assumed the wolf shot first, nailing the lynx right between the eyes. After that, judging by the two bullet holes in the chair, the remaining intruders were opened fire on the wolf hitting him twice in the chest. That's when it starts to make no sense.

Nick knew these mammals are usually very careful and clean with everything they do. So even if they were thrown a curve ball by one of their victims defending themselves, he imagined they'd still try to clean up after themselves. But they didn't. They left both bodies here and just left. That didn't seem to be in line with everything else they have done in the past.

Nick relayed his thoughts to Skye and Jack who seemed to be thinking the same things. It just didn't seem to add up. There's something that they're missing, and Nick knew it. There's something in this room that's hiding from them in plain sight, they just don't know what it is yet.

"Hey, Nick, we may have something over here." Nicks ears perked up and he looked towards the other side of the room were a pair of other familiar detectives. Last time he saw them was at that politician's house before everything went to shit. Lincoln and Sam, the leopard and hyena, looked like they had been to hell and back. He assumed they had been working hard and long hours just as everyone else, and it was taking its toll on them as well. Usually they'd have some back and forth banter, but none of them were in the mood for that and it was obvious.

"Sam, Lincoln," Nick greeted. "Whatcha got?"

"We aren't certain but come look at this." Lincoln said, turning towards the TV stand behind them. There were a few bullet holes shot through it but a minor detail caught the foxes eyes. Could it be?

"From that look your giving, we assume you're seeing the same thing?" Sam questioned. Nick nodded his head examining the bullet holes. There was actually a pretty simple way to confirm their suspicions.

"What is it Nick?" Skye questioned as Nick opened one of the wooden doors that was shot through. He didn't answer, just smiled. This is the answer he was looking for. The gun used by the wolf, McCabe's dad, used 9mm bullets. The bullets shot through this TV stand weren't 9mm. the caliber of bullet was much bigger as shown by the exit site of the wood in the door. Much to big to be a 9mm. Another thing that should be pointed out is that all the bullets found that were shot by the Tides have also been 9mm. This could only be explained by one thing. There was another shooter.

To be fair, he wasn't 100% certain on this, but he was pretty damn sure that there was someone else here shooting. The only way to have no doubts would be to ask the only other person who was here. Unfortunately, he may not even still be alive. For the sake of this investigation, and the sake of McCabe and his family, Nick hoped this wolf would survive.

Nick caught up everyone on his thoughts, and they all seemed to be in agreement. The next step from here would be to go and look in on Kendal at the hospital, and also make sure McCabe is okay.

Nick and the others thanked Lincoln and Sam and began to leave. At that moment, Nick got a call on his phone and picked it up. It was the head forensics examiner calling about some of the things she found from that lynx, said that Nick should come over ass soon as he had the time. Nick thanked her and hung up.

"That was our forensics specialist, Abby. She said she has some info on our dead lynx. Can you guys go and take care of that while I go and check up on our wolf?"

"Sure thing, we'll catch up on all the details later. Good luck at the hospital." And with that, the three went their separate ways.

Nick watched them walk away back towards their vehicle and just stood in front of the house for a second. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to be the start of something big. He could only hope. For now, he would just have to go to the hospital and hope everything was okay.

Nick started leaving the house and was nearly at his car when he started hearing shouting coming from the house. He turned around and saw a female wolf being stopped from entering the house by some other officers. Nicks heart sank as he realized that this was Kendal's daughter, and McCabe's sister. Nick wanted to go and diffuse the situation, but at the same time he just wanted to leave and go to the hospital. He's had his fair share of heart-breaking events happen to him over the past little while and it was wearing on him more than ever. Which one would be the one to break him? However, he knew he couldn't just leave her there screaming to be let into her dad's home. The officers could only do so much, but Nick figured he could help a little more considering he has a connection to her family through her brother.

Nick walked over to them, catching the yes of the two other officers who looked relieved to see him. They knew Nick was good with these kinds of situations. "What seems to be the problem here?" Nick asked, though he already knew he the answer. Just a way to insert himself into the situation.

The wolf didn't face the fox, just continued to stare hostilely at the officers. "They won't let me in my house and won't tell me anything about why they're here!" The officers gave Nick a pleading look and the fox couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"I think I could help out with that a little." Nick stated. She gave one last dirty look at the animals in her way then faced Nick with a harsh look. However, her face softened when she saw him.

"Officer Wilde?" She questioned. Nick would have been surprised if this was just a random animal off the street, but considering she's the brother of his partner, Nick didn't find it all that unbelievable.

"Yup, that's me," Nick smirked. "How can I help you?"

For the moment she didn't seem to pay him much attention, but just looked around the fox. Nick was slightly confused as to what she could be looking for.

"Where's my brother? He said he was your new partner." She asked. Nick gave a slight wince, knowing he would be the one that would have to break the news to her. Nick took a deep breath and prepared himself.

"He's at the hospital," I was immediately cut off as she started to panic.

"What? What happened? Is he okay? How bad is it?" She started asking question after question, not letting Nick answer any of the questions she was asking. Finally, he held up his paw in an attempt to get her to stop talking and it actually worked. He felt a little bad making her feel this way about her brother, because she was about to become relieved, only to have possibly a worse reaction as he tells her about her dad.

"No, no, your brother is fine. He just went to the hospital when he heard what happened with your father." When Nick said that, the she-wolves face paled and a sense of understanding came over her. "Your father was attacked last night and is in emergency surgery as far as I'm aware. I'm sorry." Nick always hated this part. Well, honestly, no one on the force enjoyed telling friends and family that their loved one was dead or dying. Nicks done it more than his fair share of times, mostly because Judy just can't do it. She always tries to get the strength to do it, but Nick knew it'd be better if he did.

She was silent for a bit, but Nick could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. "I… I need to go." She finally said, starting to turn away and leave.

"Wait," Nick called out to her, causing her to stop and turn back towards him. "I'm heading to the hospital now to check up with your brother. I could give you a ride there if you want." She seemed reluctant at first, but it didn't take much thinking for her top agree to go with him.

The two went back to Nicks patrol car and hopped in. "Thanks for doing this," she said softly, still crying slightly.

"No need to thank me, just doing what's right." She gave a slight smile, but soon returned to a frown.

"My names Jessica, by the way."

"Nice to meet you Jessica."

Damnit! He knew this would happen. McCabe growled quietly in frustration as he sat in the waiting room. He'd gotten here three or four hours ago and the entire time his chest felt like it was going to explode. Between the anxiety, stress, fear, and anger brewing up within him, McCabe knew if one more thing happened it would set him off.

He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for a doctor or nurse or someone to come through those doors. Yet at the same time he was dreading for someone to come through that door and tell him that his dad is dead. If that were the case, the wolf doesn't think he'd be able to handle it. He doesn't know how he would react.

To make things worse, McCabe had tried to convince his father to leave the city when this whole thing started. He wanted all his siblings out of here but being the stubborn wolves that they are they wouldn't listen to him. Not that it surprised him. To be fair, he wouldn't have left either if any of them told him to. That didn't make him feel any better about this whole situation though. There was also something else bothering him at the moment, but he didn't want to think about it right now. Wondering if his father was still going to be alive at the end of the day was top priority on his mind.

Then within all this, McCabe was trying to build up the courage to call his siblings and tell them the news. He had been clutching on to his phone for the past hour not being able to pull himself to do it. They'd all be devastated by the news. Imagining their reactions was almost enough to bring him to tears. Actually hearing his reactions might just break him.

McCabe took a deep breath and leaned down with his head in his paws. This was all just becoming too much for him. Between the Tide and all their kidnappings and executions, then adding this was becoming to much of a burden to bear. He needed to hear some good news soon.

"McCabe?" The wolf's ears perked up and he lifted up his head at the familiar voice. What he saw, however, confused him. It was his sister, who he was beyond glad to see, but with her was Nick.

McCabe said nothing and walked over to Jessica and brought her into a big hug. It has been months since he last saw her. In honesty, he hasn't seen any of his family since graduation day from the academy. It didn't help that immediately after he graduated, Zootopia was plunged into hell. He's just been to busy. He's texted them every now and then to let them know that he's okay and to check up on family matters, but other than that nothing.

"What are you two doing here?" McCabe asked.

"I was going to dads house when I saw all the police there. Officer Wilde was there and explained what happened," she paused for a moment, trying not to break down crying from the reality of why she's here. "He explained what happened then offered to give me a ride here. He said that you'd be here, so I agreed and, well, here I am"

McCabe would have to ask Nick why he was at his house later, but right now he was just happy to have his sister with him.

"So, what exactly happened? Do you know?" Jessica asked. Nick and McCabe gave each other nervous looks. They both knew the implications of being attacked by The Tides and McCabe didn't know if he wanted to share this information with his sister. He made up his mind pretty quickly though.

"Uh, no we don't know anything right now. But don't worry, we'll make sure to find the bastard who did this." McCabe growled. He wasn't completely lying. He's more pissed now than he's ever been during these months, they made things personal. However, he wanted to spare his sister the details until they have more information. He doesn't want anyone to jump to conclusions.

"You better, whoever did this needs to pay." She almost snarled.

McCabe agreed with the same type of snarl. Nick looked on at the two wolves and couldn't help but feel bad for the two. He's been in a similar position when Judy disappeared and since then he's held a pocket of anger within him that helps keep him going. He has a feeling McCabe will start having that same feeling.

That's when the subject of why he was here popped back into his mind. He hated having to beak up the little family reunion, but this was really important.

"McCabe, I know this is the last thing you want to do right now, but I've got some things we need to talk about." McCabe just nodded his head. He understood that Nick probably had some really important things to discuss with him, most likely involving his father. McCabe gave his sister one last hug then went off to a private place with Nick. Jessica said she would stay here and wait for the word on their fathers' condition.

"So, what's going on? What'd you find at my father's house." The wolf was hoping for something good if it got Nick to come and find him. Lucky for him, it was the best thing they've gotten since they found out who they were dealing with. Nick gave a small smile, knowing this would make the wolf happy. It's just unfortunate that McCabe dad had to get shot for this to happen.

Nick explained everything that they had found and deduced while searching through the crime scene at his dad's house. He started with the Lynx and ended with them certain that there was a second shooter who was helping his father. After hearing all of this, McCabe looked to be deep in thought. His mind went to a single person of who it could have been. There's really only one person it could be.

"Arthur Shills." McCabe stated. Nick gave the wolf a look that told him to keep talking. "He's and old marine buddy of my dad's, and a family friend. He's a coyote, tan fur, average size. Him and my dad are pretty close and he's the only animal I can think of that would be at the house."

Nick nodded his head slowly. This was good. This is the most useful information they've gotten. If they can find this coyote, maybe they can get some information. Or it would just lead to another dead end. Only time would tell.

Nick looked at the time and his eyes widened. It was nearly 10pm. The day had just flown by. "We'll look into this tomorrow. We both need to get some sleep, its been a long day. And I know you probably want to stay here and find out what going on with your dad, but I need you for this."

Nick was right. The wolf wanted to protest and stay here with his sister and dad, but he knew better than to argue with Nick. McCabe nodded his head and the two went their separate ways until tomorrow.

An hour later Nick was hopping out of his car in front of his apartment. This has been a long day and Nick couldn't wait to plop down in his bed for the night. He was about to walk into his apartment building, but he caught something out the corner of his eye. He turned his head to the left and saw a figure in a trench coat looking directly at him. He knew exactly who this was, and whenever one of them come around its usually bad news.

Once the figure knew he had caught Nicks attention he turned around and began walking away. However, Nick noticed him drop a slip of paper where he was. Nick waited a moment until the figure disappeared into an alley then went over and picked up the slip of paper. It read 'Go into your apartment building then walk out the back door into the alley.' This had Nick being kind of suspicious about something, but he knew better than to no follow these guys orders. It would just be easier to do what they say.

Nick walked into his building, went all the way to the back and walked into the alley way just as instructed. He didn't see anyone there, so he looked around for something that they may have left. And to no surprise he found a piece of paper taped to a dumpster. It read 'They know your getting close, stay safe.'

"Well, that's not ominous as hell." So, what was he supposed to do with this knowledge? He already assumed he was on their radars, so why warm him now.

He got his answer almost immediately. Seconds after he read the note he was thrown to the ground. A loud explosion boomed through the sky and heat engulfed his body. He could feel some of his fur being singed. The entire explosion only lasted a few explosions, but it felt longer for Nick. Once he was sure it was over, he uncovered his face and stood back up.

Well, now he knew what Mr. Bigs guy was talking about. And Nick only has one thing to say to that.

"Fuck."

* * *

 **Wow, I didn't expect to get the feedback I did last chapter. I'm happy you guys enjoyed it so I typed up this chapter as quick as I could. I hope you all enjoy it. I always love hearing what you guys have to say so please leave a review. Again, thanks for reading.**

 **Keep On Keeping On**

 **Peace Out**


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